


Somewhere Only We Know

by coolandcreativetwo



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-18
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-25 23:43:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 60,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/644217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolandcreativetwo/pseuds/coolandcreativetwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a young Viking and a spirited girl connect with letters from a magical mailbox, they begin a beautiful friendship, and it will soon be put to the test by certain events from both of their worlds. Inspired by "The Lake House".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Princess' Prologue

Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens, and from this drop of sunlight, grew a magic golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured. One day, a old woman named Mother Gothel discovered the Golden Flower. She decided to use its power to keep herself young and beautiful for hundreds of years.

As those centuries passed, there grew a small and happy kingdom, which was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. The kingdom was surrounded by sparkling blue water, its gentle waves dappled by sunlit skies, and the island was rich, both in good fortune, and in an easy harmony among its people. Though the people of the kingdom had heard the legend of the Golden Flower, no one had ever seen it. It was the stuff of stories told around the fires on cold winter nights. They had never really needed the flower.

The people of the kingdom had recently become joyful, as there was news that the Queen was going to have a child, but all too soon, the kingdom's happiness came to an abrupt end. Word spread the Queen was gravely ill. There seemed to be nothing that could help her...or was there?

Perhaps the Golden Flower was more than merely an old legend. Willing to try anything to save her, the people launched a search throughout the kingdom and the surrounding lands. They combed the hills and fields, mountains and valleys. They even crossed the clear blue water to explore the stark and rocky terrain on the opposite shore.

Mother Gothel, who had kept herself and the Golden Flower isolated from the people of kingdom, was singing softly to the flower, as she did every day, when she spotted some strangers in the distance. They were searching every square inch of the land. Mother Gothel began to panic. Quickly, she hid and watched as the strangers moved closer to the rocky ledge where the Golden Flower grew.

"We found it! We found it!" The strangers shouted at last.

Mother Gothel watch horrified, horrified, as a palace guard uprooted the flower and carried it off. In a panic, she followed the strangers as they brought the flower to the castle. She stayed hidden, hoping to come up with a scheme to get the Golden Flower back, but it was too late. The flower was made into a potion and fed to the ailing Queen.

Its magic worked, and the Queen soon recovered! The King and all the people in the land rejoiced. Soon afterward, the King and Queen stood on their royal balcony, holding the newborn Princess together. She was such a darling baby, with her mother's emerald-green eyes, and curly golden hair that gleamed in the sunlight, and her name was Rapunzel.

The palace courtyard was filled with the cheers of the kingdom's people as they saw their princess for the very first time. Mother Gothel, who was watching from the shadows, did bit cheer. Without the magic of the Golden Flower, she was growing older by the day. Seething with anger, she waited.

As the day faded into night, the King and Queen launched a single glowing lantern into the night sky to celebrate their princess' birth. All their love and hopes for the Princess' happiness were contained in the lantern. The crowd joyfully watched as the glowing lantern rose to the heavens, but the King and Queen's happiness was sort-lived.

For later that night, as the kingdom slept, a vengeful Mother Gothel crept into the royal nursery and approached the Princess' cradle. Swiftly, she thrust her hand toward the child, but she suddenly stopped. The lovely golden curls of the infant entranced Mother Gothel. Compelled to gently stroke the baby's hair, she quietly began to sing, as she had so many times with the flower.

Most unexpectedly, the child's hair began to glow. Mother Gothel watched in shock, then with delight, as her withered old hand became young again. The healing power of the Golden Flower lived on in the golden hair of the little Princess! Mother Gothel cut a piece of the Princess's hair and gazed at it as it lay in her hand.

Now she could take it with her and use it anytime she liked, but that was not meant to be. Mother Gothel watched as the light hair in her hand turned dark brown. She looked at the back of the Princess's neck. There was now a short brown tuft where the golden hair had been cut.

Mother Gothel was furious! She realized that the magic only worked if she sang and stroked the hair on the Princess's head! There was only one thing to do. She would have to steal the baby...and keep her hidden from the rest of the world forever.

For many months, the people of the kingdom searched and searched, but they could never find their princess. No one knew that far away, hidden in a boxed-in valley, Mother Gothel was raising the child as her own. To prevent her from leaving, Mother Gothel kept the girl at the top of the tall tower they called home.

The beautiful valley provided stunning views for the little girl. A waterfall fell from the crest of the steep surrounding cliffs, plunging to a sparkling, winding stream below. The meadows were filled with flowers and lush greenery. Often, rainbows rose from the water, glimmering and arching over the stone tower.

During the day, Mother Gothel would frequently go outside the flower to gather herbs and vegetables. On other occasions, the little girl watched as Mother Gothel went to the edge of the valley and slipped into a dark hole at the base of a rocky cliff, disappearing through a tunnel that led her beyond the places that the child could see. The tunnel oped to a forest outside of the valley. Mother Gothel made sure that when she came and went thought the tunnel, no one ever saw her. If anyone did see, they might find the tower, and the Princess!

Mother Gothel adored Rapunzel, and the child adored Mother Gothel, too. After all, she was the only mother- and the only person! -whom Rapunzel knew or remembered. Mother Gothel was there to feed and bathe the infant. She watched Rapunzel take her first steps, and she sang lullabies to the little girl as she stroked and brushed her hair every day.

Rapunzel never knew the true love of the parents. Nearly four years passed before Rapunzel asked Mother Gothel, "Why can't I go outside?" Mother Gothel remained cautious in her response. She knew she had to make the little girl fearful, so she would never stray from the safety of the tower.

"The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible, selfish people." Mother Gothel replied.

She did not want to lose Rapunzel. The child was a part of her now. She treasured Rapunzel as she would with a prized rose or a precious jewel. Mother Gothel lifted a section of Rapunzel's hair. Rapunzel reached back and touched the small tuft at the nape of her neck. It was the only part of her hair that was dark and short.

"They wanted your gift for themselves," Mother Gothel said, lying to Rapunzel as she gazed at the hair that she herself had cut.

"So they cut a piece of your hair." Mother Gothel said.

"Yes, Mommy." Rapunzel answered, and shivered a little.

The outside world must be a terribly dangerous place, but on the night of her fourth birthday, Rapunzel tiptoed over to the the tower window. There, in the night sky, she saw thousands of sparkling lights drifting up beyond the valley toward the stars. The same thing happened on the night of her fifth birthday, and also on her sixth and seventh birthdays.

Rapunzel loved those floating lights, and she even grew to believe that somehow, they were meant for her. What Rapunzel didn't know was that each year, the King and Queen and all of the people in the kingdom released thousands of glowing lanterns as beacons for their lost princess. They hoped that one day, the lights would guide her home.

Many years passed, and Rapunzel grew into a beautiful young woman, with sparkling green eyes and golden hair that was nearly seventy feet long. Seventy feet of hair that was used to make a swing so she could swoop from the rafters in the tower, and that made brushes for beloved paintings, and despite her lonely life spent inside the top of the tower, nothing could destroy Rapunzel's true spirit.

With her eighteenth birthday approaching, even though it was many weeks away, Rapunzel had decided that this birthday would be different. At least, she hoped so, but first, she had to gather enough courage to ask Mother Gothel for the biggest favor she could grant. Mother Gothel had always told Rapunzel that someday, when she was old enough, when she was ready, she would be allowed to go outside. Outside! Rapunzel could only imagine outside. A place she barely glimpsed from her window, a place filled with creatures and plants, and with sights, smells, and sounds she had never experienced!

Rapunzel nervously hoped that Mother Gothel would finally allow her to go out. She needed to find the source of those mysterious floating lights. What Rapunzel also noticed as she grew up, was a mailbox with a flag attached to it. The mailbox was not far from the tower. While Rapunzel doesn't really have anyone to write to, she wondered if someone from the outside world would receive a letter she wrote, so when Mother Gothel does come to the tower, Rapunzel was definitely going to ask her about that mailbox...


	2. The Mysterious Mailbox

Opening the tower's shutters, Rapunzel leaned out over the windowsill, breathing in the fresh morning air. It seemed to smell better out there than inside the tower, and the air always felt cooler and fresher at the window. From a potted strawberry plant next to her, a tiny green chameleon named Pascal came out to greet her. Pascal was Rapunzel's only friend, and he looked up at her happily, blinking his big eyes.

He could turn almost any color, and now, sensing Rapunzel's mood, he turned a bright yellow. Pascal knew, as always, exactly what was best for Rapunzel. She wanted to go outside! Pascal skittered over to the windowsill and gestured for her to come out of the tower with her, but Rapunzel shook her head. She couldn't go out unless she Mother Gothel's permission first. Pascal slumped a bit.

"Oh, come on, Pascal," she said cheerfully to the little chameleon, as she motioned him to come back inside the tower. "It's not so bad in there."

She used her golden hair to pull a lever. Thick, wooden shutters that covered the windows over her head at the tower's peak burst open. The tower was now flooded with sunlight, glittering specks of dust filling the air. Their day was about to begin, and it's a very big day because it was the day she would ask Mother Gothel about the mailbox near the tower!

The tower made a small living space. It was tall, but narrow. On the main level, there was a small kitchen, along with a living room that had a giant fireplace. The window through which Mother Gothel entered and exited the tower was off to one side.

Mother Gothel slept in a bedroom on this cozy level of the tower. Up a set of winding wooden stairs was a small loft where Rapunzel slept. Here, she also had a box of paints, a guitar, and a little bed for Pascal. Rapunzel kept herself busy every day, but today, Pascal felt her excitement as she rushed through her chores: cleaning, sweeping, dusting the furniture, waxing the floors made of thick golden wood and shining stone, and washing her single, pale purple dress, then she sat down to play guitar.

She was self-taught, but the melodies that floated from the strings were beautiful. Rapunzel had a few puzzles that she put together and took apart regularly. When she started feeling a bit pent up, she often turned to her darts. She had quite good aim and placed her targets in every nook and cranny to challenge herself with increasing levels of difficulty.

Someday, she might just create a dart that could fly across the valley and hit one of the far walls of the cliffs, but that day was a long way off. In the meantime, Rapunzel also loved to read! She had exactly three books, all completely memorized. One about culinary arts, which helped her with her cooking. One about geology, and the third was about botany. Her favourite was the botany book. It had the best colors and explained about things that grew outside!

Pascal tried to be patient as Rapunzel did the same things over and over again, but sometimes he couldn't help rolling his eyes. It was boring, especially when she had to brush her hair for about three hours. This morning, when she was finally done with all her chores, her guitar, her puzzles and books, and her hair, as usual, she had saved the best for last: painting! It was absolutely her passion. The tower's walls were covered with her art.

Tossing a length of golden hair over one of the rafters, she hoisted herself up toward her favourite mural. Today, as she pulled back the red curtain that covered the painting, she looked at it differently. The image was a replica of the view from her window: a scene showing the glowing lights rising into the night sky. Pulling out her paints, she spotted a small blank space that she wanted to fill. When she finished, she had added a small picture of herself ready to enter the forest beyond the tunnel, to see the world outside her little valley.

Suddenly, Rapunzel heard her mother's voice. "Rapunzel!" Mother Gothel called from outside the tower. "Let down your hair!" Rapunzel gasped and took a deep breath, and turned to Pascal, who gave her a brave little smile.

"Okay," Rapunzel said to Pascal, trying to stay calm. "No big deal. I'm just going to do it. I'm just going to say, 'Mother? There's something I've been wanting to ask you!'"

She was beginning to feel her heart sinking. Maybe she wasn't ready to go outside. Pascal took one look at Rapunzel and arched his little body, puffing out his chest to tell her to brave and strong.

"I know, Pascal," Rapunzel appreciating the encouragement. "Come on, now," she said, motioning for him to hide. "Don't let her see you."

Mother Gothel had never approved of indoor pets. Pascal nodded and camouflaged himself to look like the stone on the mantel.

Down below on the ground, Mother Gothel shouted "Rapunzel! I'm not getting any younger down here!"

Rapunzel hurried toward the window. "Coming, Mother!" Rapunzel shouted.

She placed a loop of her golden hair around a pulley outside the window and lowered it down. As soon as Mother Gothel set her foot in the loop of hair, Rapunzel began slowly pull her up to the tower window.

It was very hard work! "Hello, Mother! Welcome home!" Rapunzel said, nearly out of breath.

"Oh, Rapunzel! How do you manage to do that every single day, without failure? It looks absolutely exhausting, darling." Mother Gothel wondered.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rapunzel replied cheerfully.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long," Mother Gothel snapped, then suddenly laughed. Oh, darling, I'm just teasing."

Meanwhile, Rapunzel remained focused on her question. "Uh, so, Mother..." Rapunzel began, but Mother Gothel immediately interrupted her.

"Rapunzel, look in that mirror. Do you know what I see?" Mother Gothel asked, pulling Rapunzel into a half hug as they stood side by side in front of a mirror.

"I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady." Rapunzel now had a smile on her face.

"Oh, look, you're here too!" Mother Gothel said,and started laughing, while Rapunzel's smile quickly vanished.

She realized Mother Gothel was talking about her own reflection. "I'm just teasing. Stop taking everything so seriously." Mother Gothel said.

Rapunzel took a breath and tried to speak to her mother again. "So...Mother?" Rapunzel began, nervously stumbling over her words.

"As I grew up, I noticed that there is a...uhh." Mother Gothel shook her head impatiently.

"Rapunzel, please stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling. Blah Blah Blah! It's very annoying." Mother Gothel soon smiled again.

"I'm just teasing. You're adorable. I love you so much, darling." She said, as she went over to a table to get an apple.

Rapunzel sighed, and looked down at the bottom of the mirror, and saw Pascal, who made a gesture for her to keep going.

Rapunzel nodded, turned around, and blurted out, asking, "Mother, what is that thing near the tower?"

Mother Gothel was stunned, while Rapunzel was too. "I did it! I finally asked!" Rapunzel thought to herself.

"What?" Mother Gothel said to Rapunzel.

"Well, as I grew up, I noticed that there was something not far from the tower." Rapunzel replied.

"Okay, so where is this 'thing' you're talking about?" Mother Gothel asked.

Rapunzel walked over to the window and Mother Gothel followed. Rapunzel went up the ledge and wrapped her hair around the pulley, this time to make sure she didn't fall, and Mother Gothel went up with her.

"Now then, could you please show me where it is?" Mother Gothel asked, and Rapunzel immediately pointed to the mailbox, which was only a few centimeters from the tower.

"Oh that, dear? That's just a mailbox." Mother Gothel answered as she went back into the tower.

"Well, what does it do, Mother?" Rapunzel asked, as she went back inside too.

"First, you have to write a letter, and then, you leave it in the mailbox, and you raise the flag. Once you have done all of that, then the letter will be sent to a person that's very far away." Mother Gothel replied.

"Wow, so does it work? Can we try it?" Rapunzel asked in excitement.

"Oh, dear, I don't think we can." Mother Gothel said.

"Why not?" Rapunzel asked, now frowning.

"We don't have anyone to write to." Mother Gothel answered.

"I think I have a reason we should write a letter." Rapunzel said.

"Really, what for?" Mother Gothel asked.

Rapunzel suddenly went to her mural of the glowing lights, and revealed it to Mother Gothel. "We could ask about the floating lights." Rapunzel said.

"Oh, you mean the stars," Mother Gothel said, hoping Rapunzel was still young enough to be fooled, but Rapunzel shook her head, meaning she didn't agree.

"That's the thing," Rapunzel said excitedly, "I've charted stars, and they're always constant, but these? They appear every year on my birthday, Mother. Only on my birthday, and I can't help but feel like, they're meant for me. My eighteenth birthday is coming in a few months, and the truth is, the present I want most is to see those lights, and not just from my window. In person, and until then, I need to know what they are."

Mother Gothel tried to appear calm. "Go outside?" She said as she gathered her wits.

"Why, Rapunzel, you know why we stay up in this tower." Mother Gothel told Rapunzel.

"I know I'm safe up in this tower, but what if I'm around the tower? I'm sure I'll be just fine." Rapunzel said.

Mother Gothel began to describe terrible, frightening things: ruffians and thugs and men with pointy teeth, poison ivy and quicksand, cannibals and snakes, the plauge and large bugs.

Still, Rapunzel remained focused. "Mother, I'm sure none of those things are here around the tower. Don't you trust me?" Rapunzel asked.

"Of course, I trust you. I'm just worried that one day, you'll be taken by somebody, and they'll want your hair for themselves." Mother Gothel said.

"Mother, I believe that the outside world is not so dangerous, and they are so many good things out there, which is why I'll ask you this question. Can I please go outside?" Rapunzel asked.

Mother Gothel thought about it, and then shook her head. "I'm sorry, but you are not leaving this tower. Understood?" Mother Gothel asked.

Rapunzel opened her mouth, ready to argue, but decided not to. "Yes, Mother," Rapunzel replied obediently, slumping in sadness.

"Oh..." Mother Gothel changed her tone and swept Rapunzel into a warm hug. "I love you very much, dear." Mother Gothel said softly.

"I love you more," Rapunzel answered quietly, as she always did. "I love you most!" Mother Gothel whispered as she kissed Rapunzel atop her head and got ready to leave again.

Rapunzel had her hair around the pulley to bring her mother slowly on the ground, and looked up at the sky after. How could she doubt her mother's love. She looked down and waved as Mother Gothel disappeared beyond the walls of the valley...into the mysterious world beyond.

Suddenly, Mother Gothel began to think about what Rapunzel said. "Hmm...maybe it wouldn't be that bad if Rapunzel went outside..."


	3. The Very First Letter

When Mother Gothel had left, Rapunzel began to realize that it didn't matter what she said or did. There was no hope that Mother Gothel would ever let her go outside. Rapunzel would be trapped at the top of the tower for the rest of her life. She turned around and looked longingly at her mural of lights, then at the mailbox on the ground near the tower.

Rapunzel needed to know about the floating lights, and she was sure if she wrote a letter and put into the mailbox, then she would finally get the answer she has always wanted. Still, Rapunzel knew that would never happen, and she went back up to her room to read the three books she only had...again. Rapunzel had just finished reading the book about geology when a voice suddenly came from outside the tower.

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" It was Mother Gothel.

"Coming, Mother!" Rapunzel shouted, and she immediately went to the tower window and wrapped her hair around the pulley.

"I have a big surprise!" Mother Gothel shouted cheerfully.

"Oh. That's great," Rapunzel said, trying to be cheerful as well.

As she started pulling her mother up the side of the tower, she began to think what it might be. Her mother bringing back parsnips and saying she was going to make hazelnut soup, which was her favourite, for dinner.

Right when Mother Gothel was up standing on the windowsill, Rapunzel immediately asked a question: "So what is the big surprise?"

Mother Gothel stepped into the tower and smiled. "Rapunzel, I thought about what you said earlier, and I decided that...you can go outside."

Just a few seconds after Mother Gothel said that, Rapunzel rushed over and gave her the biggest hug.

"Thank you, Mother! This is something that I've wanted so much." Rapunzel said cheerfully.

She was about to walk toward the window, when Mother Gothel stopped her.

"Wait, Rapunzel. There are a few rules you must always remember." Mother Gothel said.

"Okay, so what are the rules, Mother?" Rapunzel asked.

"First, you can't go out beyond the tunnel. If you get dirty, you have to clean up yourself, and finally, you cannot put anything in the mailbox. Do you understand?" Mother Gothel asked.

Rapunzel nodded. "Yes, Mother, but one more thing. How am I supposed to get back inside the tower?"

"If you bring me down outside, and if you come down too, the I'll show you." Mother Gothel said.

Five seconds later, Rapunzel immediately went to the tower window and wrapped her hair around the pulley and brought her mother to the ground. Slowly, she climbed down the tower for the very first time. Using her hair like a rope, as she had done so many times for Mother Gothel, but never for herself, she rappelled toward the ground. At the bottom of the tower, her toes touched the soft grass, then she was standing on the ground for the first time in her life! The grass tickled her toes. It was cool, and it felt wonderful. The sky looked enormous, and the sunlight shimmered through the trees. Just as Rapunzel was about to start dancing in the sunlight, she heard her mother's voice.

"Rapunzel! Could you please come over here?" Mother Gothel asked.

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel replied, and went to the back of the tower, where Mother Gothel was.

Long ago, Mother Gothel had used this entrance, but once Rapunzel's hair grew long enough for her to use it as a way of entering and exiting the tower, she had closed off the door, with bricks and mortar. Now, she was ripping at the branches that had grown over the door and uncovered the hidden entrance. Next, Mother Gothel began prying away the bricks with her bare hands, until she could open the door behind the wall she had built.

"Please follow me, Rapunzel." Mother Gothel said. Rapunzel nodded, and stayed behind her mother, as they climbed a secret staircase.

Mother Gothel pushed through a trapdoor hidden in the floor, and they were both back in the tower.

"This will be how you get back inside the tower. Make sure to remember, okay?" Mother Gothel asked.

Rapunzel nodded. "Don't worry. I'll always remember." Rapunzel promised.

"Good. Now then, I'm going to gather some parsnips so I can make your favourite for dinner. Hazelnut soup!" Mother Gothel said.

"I can't wait!" Rapunzel said happily, before giving Mother Gothel a hug. "I love you very much, dear." Mother Gothel said softly.

"I love you more." Rapunzel said brightly. "I love you most" Mother Gothel said, as she kissed Rapunzel on top of her head.

Mother Gothel got a basket and her cloak, and walked down the staircase to the ground. Rapunzel watched from her tower window until Mother Gothel disappeared into the forest. She immediately went up to her room, and to her desk, where she got out her stationary. Pascal suddenly appeared and was now on Rapunzel's shoulder.

I've got great news, Pascal! Mother said I could go outside!" Rapunzel said cheerfully.

Pascal happily squeaked, when he knew Rapunzel got something she had wanted for so long.

"What's more is I'm going to write a letter too, and put it into that mailbox, so I can finally know about the floating lights. Should I write my name?" Rapunzel asked.

Pascal shook his head, since he was sure the outside world might still be dangerous.

"Good idea. I'll just sign it 'Someone who loves to dream'. How does that sound?" Rapunzel asked.

Pascal nodded, which led to Rapunzel smiling. "I'll make it out to 'Person from the outside world'.

After a few minutes of writing, Rapunzel had finally finished her letter. Pascal hung on for dear life, as Rapunzel raced down the stairs to the floor of the tower, and then down the secret staircase that led outside the tower, and all the way to the mailbox.

"I know Mother wouldn't be happy about this, if she ever found out, but the floating lights are so important to me, I have to know what they are." Rapunzel thought to herself.

She put the letter into the mailbox and raised the flag down, and spent the rest of her time outside.


	4. The Message Received

As Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III walked into the cove, he suddenly noticed that the Night Fury he had befriended just a day earlier, could not be seen anywhere. Hiccup had named him 'Toothless' for his retracted teeth. He was sure the dragon couldn't have flown out of the cove, because one of his tail fins was completely gone, and that's why Hiccup had spent his time in the blacksmith shop last night, making a brand new tail fin, so that Toothless could be able to fly into the sky again. He also brought an enormous woven basket of fish, as Hiccup was positive Toothless would be very hungry. Unfortunately, he couldn't see the black dragon, and so he called out the name he came up with yesterday.

"Toothless! Where are you?" Hiccup shouted, hoping for a sound.

Luckily, he heard the dragon growl loudly behind a large rock. When Hiccup found Toothless, the dragon was looking at something strange, a thing Hiccup didn't even know what it was supposed to be. It seemed to be a long wooden pole, with a box attached at the top. The sides were rectangle-shaped, while the top was triangle-shaped. He also noticed that the box had some sort of door, and so, very slowly, Hiccup decided to open it to see what the box had, as he pulled the little knob on the door, and took a peek inside to see if anything was there. Surprisingly there was a small folded white sheet of paper, and when Hiccup open unfolded it, he suddenly realized what it was. It was a letter! Hiccup immediately got started to reading it.

Dear Person From The Outside World,

Every year on my birthday, I have seen many lights float up into the sky, and I can't help but feel like they're meant for me, and so, it's important I have to know what they are, because you should know that it's been my one and only dream to see these floating lights up close and in person.

When you have answer, please make sure to write back. Once you put the letter in the mailbox, you raise the flag, and when you receive a letter, you lower the flag. Thank you so much, and I can't wait.

Sincerely, Someone Who Loves To Dream.

After reading, Hiccup immediately lowered the mailbox, and Hiccup thought about what this someone was talking about.

"Floating lights?" Hiccup wondered, and then forgot about it.

"Oh, Toothless," Hiccup cooed, walking toward the dragon with the basket on his back. Hiccup grunted as he heaved the basket of fish in front of the Night Fury.

"I brought you some breakfast, I hope you're hungry...," Hiccup told the dragon. Toothless looked very eager to eat his breakfast, as Hiccup kicked the basket over and the fish spilled all over the ground. Toothless licked his lips and stuck his nose in the pile of fish.

"Okay, that's disgusting," Hiccup said as he made his way behind Toothless.

"We've got salmon, some Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel!" Hiccup said, naming the fish that Toothless was about to dig in to. At the word 'eel', however, Toothless suddenly growled and drew back.

"Don't like eel?" Hiccup said, holding up the slimy black and yellow striped fish. Toothless let out a shriek of disgust.

"Okay!" Hiccup said, tossing the eel away. "Yeah, I'm not a fan either…"

With the eel gone, Toothless began snapping down on the fish.

"Yes, that's it...don't mind me," Hiccup said softly as he walked behind the dragon toward his injured tail.

"I'll just be back here…minding my own business…" Hiccup said as he set the artificial fin down beside the empty spot where the left fin should have been and moved the fin against the tail. At that moment, Toothless moved his tail to the side. Hiccup quickly looked at him, but he didn't seem to notice what Hiccup was doing. Hiccup moved the fin toward his tail again, but again he moved it away.

"Toothless, this won't work unless you stay still!" Hiccup said in frustration, sitting down on his tail and strapping the fin to his tail.

Behind Hiccup, Toothless stuck his head in the basket, nosing around to see if there were any missed fish. His thrashing made it quite difficult to attach the fin, but Hiccup eventually did it. Toothless suddenly stopped moving, and the basket dropped from his face to reveal a surprised expression. He wiggled his tail, felt the fin, and dropped his wings in shock. The human had made him a new fin? To fly with?

"There!" Hiccup said happily, staring at his handiwork. Hiccup reached down and unfurled the fin, not noticing Toothless's wings unfurling behind him getting ready for takeoff.

"That's not too bad. It works," Hiccup said with satisfaction. At that moment, Toothless shoved off and shot into the air. Hiccup was still on his tail, which meant he went with him. Hiccup screamed as the ground shot away from him and they went higher. Hiccup wrapped his legs around the dragon's tail for dear life.

Through his fear, Hiccup managed to notice that the fin was flapping around uselessly in the air. That meant it wasn't working, and Toothless suddenly buckled and plunged toward the ground without the fin helping him. As the ground approached and both of them screamed, Hiccup shot out a hand and yanked the fin out to the side. They swerved up inches from the ground and shot up into the sky in a controlled swoop.

"Ohmygo—oh, it's—it's working!" Hiccup gasped, and he angled the fin to the side and Toothless flew to the left. He was flying! They were flying!

"Yes! I did it!" Hiccup cheered, and Toothless suddenly realized Hiccup was hanging onto his tail and flicked him off.

Hiccup hit the lake below and plunged deep below the surface. Without Hiccup to extend the fin, Toothless also plummeted into the lake. Hiccup swam to the surface, pumped his fists in the air, and cheered. "YEAH!"

Even though his clothes were clinging to his skin, and his wet hair was hanging into his eyes, Hiccup was in a very good, as the fin he made for Toothless, and he planned to work on a few more things that would help Toothless to get back into the sky and soar through the clouds again. As Hiccup climbed to the top of the cove, he turned around and looked back at the mailbox. He went into his vest, and took out the letter he pulled out from the mailbox, and looked at it.

"Hmm...I believe who ever wrote this letter deserves to have their answer." Hiccup announced.


	5. The Answers Returned

After dragon training, over the past few hours, Hiccup thought about the letter he read earlier, and decided he was going to write back. He was now inside the blacksmith's shop as he looked at the letter, and then at the questions, and became very frustrated. Hiccup believed he should take some off and go out to watch the stars. He thought the best view would be on the cliff by the dock. When Hiccup finally got there, he laid down softly on the grass.

It always made him feel calm and comfortable and relaxed when he was here. Back when Hiccup was a baby, his mother would bring him to this area, and she would hold him, while talking about the stars and what they would look like. Hiccup missed those moments, and especially, his mother. Suddenly, Hiccup sat up, and looked at the sky very carefully.

"Floating lights. These must be what that 'someone' is talking about!" Hiccup said excitedly.

He immediately ran back to the forge, where the letter was, and got out a sheet of paper. Hiccup looked at the questions on the letter again, and he began writing. After a few minutes, he was all done and started to head toward the forest. When he reached the cove, he carefully climbed down, and went to the strange box. There, he found Toothless curled up into a half circle, with his head on the ground, and his eyes closed.

Hiccup slowly walked by the dragon so he didn't wake him up, and luckily, Toothless didn't move. He opened up the door of the box, and put his letter inside, and finally, lowered the flag. Soon, he turned around and looked at the dragon, but since it was so dark, Hiccup couldn't really see Toothless. Hiccup immediately decided to stay the night at the clearing, thinking it wouldn't be all that bed. Quietly, he walked over and slowly laying his back against Toothless' belly.

"I hope this someone is happy with the answers I wrote down." Hiccup thought before falling asleep.


	6. The Unsatisfying Surprise

When Rapunzel woke up, she immediately got busy doing her chores, and then did all of her hobbies. She couldn't wait to read the letter that would tell her all about the floating lights, so she was happy Mother Gothel left to get some herbs and vegetables, and Rapunzel went down the secret staircase and outside, to the mailbox. The flag was standing up, so she knew there was a letter inside. Rapunzel quickly opened the mailbox, and she couldn't contain her excitement as she was now holding a white sheet with words written on it. After she lowered the flag, Rapunzel quickly ran back up the staircase to the tower.

"Pascal! I got it! I got a letter back!" She called pleasantly.

The chameleon suddenly came out from a big vase and followed Rapunzel as she went upstairs to her bedroom. Rapunzel sat down at her chair in front of her vanity mirror and began to read the letter as Pascal climbed up to her shoulder.

Dear Someone Who Loves To Dream,

I happen to know about the floating lights you wrote about. Those lights are actually the stars. I'm not sure people send them into the sky, or why there's more of them every year. I believe the stars are born and somehow, they stay up there. I don't really know what they mean, so I hope you're happy with the answers for your questions.

Sincerely, Person From The Outside World

P.S: Maybe it would be better if we used our real names, because it was nice writing to you.

Rapunzel was not so pleased after reading the letter. These were not the answers she expected, what she hoped for. Now Rapunzel was sure this person didn't know what the floating lights were, so she decided to write another letter, but this time, she really wanted to know who wrote back.

Was this person a ruffian or a thug Mother Gothel had warned her about? Either way, Rapunzel was determined to find out, as she brought out a sheet of paper and a fountain pen. She wouldn't be afraid, as she would write down her name in this letter.


	7. The Misunderstanding

As soon as Hiccup's latest exam of dragon training was over, in which he succeeded by pushing a Hideous Zippleback into it's cage while holding a smoked eel, since he learned that dragons had a distaste for eel yesterday, he quickly headed for the cove, but not before going to the blacksmith shop to design a brand new saddle for Toothless. Hiccup had spent a good remainder of the day working on it in the forge by cutting leather and using a hammer to make holes so Hiccup could stitch the straps together, because if he was going to ride that dragon, then he couldn't cling to the tail the whole time. When Hiccup finally reached the cove while holding the saddle in his arms, he decided to check in the mailbox and see if there was another new letter from the "Someone Who Loves To Dream".

"Hey, bud. I have a big surprise for you, but first, I'm just gonna look in that strange box because I wanna know if somebody wrote back to me." Hiccup said, as he walked over to the mailbox.

Toothless gave his reply to Hiccup by giving a relaxed look and making a purring sound like a cat, while he stayed laying down on the grass, and kept his eyes toward Hiccup. The teenager opened up the mailbox and Hiccup could see a single white sheet of paper, which gave off a sudden feeling of happiness and excitement deep inside his stomach. Hiccup used his left hand to pull the letter out from the mailbox and used his right hand to close it before he unfolded the sheet and he soon got started on reading the letter.

Dear Person From The Outside World,

I hate to be mean or anything, but I'm not really happy with your answers. I'm sure that there's been a misunderstanding about the floating lights I wrote about. They only appear on one specific day, and that happens to be on the night of my birthday. Stars are big, dense balls of gas and floating lights are… well, floating lights!

Even though I was disappointed at first, I was still glad someone could write back to me. I thought about what you wrote in your letter, and I agree that we should use our real names. I'm a girl whose name is Rapunzel, and in a few months, I'll be turning eighteen years old. I live with my mother, who's kept me safe and sound in a tower, and I love her very much. I have a best friend named Pascal, who's a green chameleon, and he can be able to change into many different colors.

Pascal and I have been doing some brainstorming. He thinks that the floating lights could be fireflies, which may make some sense…but how would fireflies know the exact day of my birthday? Plus, my lights seem much bigger and more far away than just fireflies in the forest. I don't really have any guesses, to be honest. The lights are just so… mysterious but magical.

There's a lot of hobbies that I love to do, but the one that has always been my absolute favourite is painting. I could actually go on and on about myself, but I think it's really important if I get to know a lot more about you. Whenever you have any free time, please feel free to write about who you are in your next letter.

Sincerely, Rapunzel

After he was finished with reading the letter, there was so many questions running through Hiccup's mind. Was Rapunzel beautiful, and if the girl actually was, could she possibly even be more pretty than Astrid? Did Rapunzel live somewhere on the Isle of Berk, just like him, or was her home on a different island far away? Was Rapunzel a true and bright artist when it came to painting, or were her skills completely awful and bland?

What if Pascal was a dragon, and if that was true, did Rapunzel have to be careful when she began a friendship with him? Hiccup decided to stop constantly thinking of any more ideas about Rapunzel in his head or else, he would probably cause a headache for himself. He put the letter in one of his vest pockets, and the saddle behind his back, hoping to make it a big surprise for Toothless, even though the dragon may have already seen it.

"I made something special for you, bud." Hiccup said, before holding the saddle up high. "Surprise! I hope you'll like it."

Toothless took just one look at the saddle, then bolted away while sticking his tongue out at Hiccup.

"Toothless wait!" Hiccup shouted holding the saddle over his head while running, "I just need to make sure it fits!"

Hiccup tried everything. He even tried sneaking up to the dragon but to no success.

Finally Toothless tried flying away but he ended up crashing headfirst into the canyon walls, and landed on the ground not moving.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted, while running over to him, "Toothless, are you okay?"

Luckily, he was still breathing, and that was a relief, since Toothless was just knocked out. Wait…maybe…Hiccup had a chance now, and he should take it as soon as possible. While Toothless was unconscious, Hiccup had managed to get the saddle on him.

Though rolling the dragon over with his minimal strength was rather hard, Hiccup eventually got the saddle on securely. Just when Hiccup was finished, along with tying a rope to the tail fin, Toothless started to blink his eyes and wake up. Toothless opened his large green eyes, rolled over onto his belly and gave his head a good shake.

"Oh good…you were out for a few minutes, but it looks like you're okay now." Hiccup said in relief.

Toothless blinked at the human, snorted slightly and noticed the saddle on his back, before giving an exasperated look and taking off yet again. At first, Hiccup wanted to chase after Toothless so he could get on his back and find a handhold on the saddle, but he decided that since he already got the saddle on Toothless, enough work had been done for today. Hiccup starting running towards Toothless, who turned and dashed away from Hiccup, while teasingly wagging his tail in front of the human.

Hiccup giggled and kept running, when suddenly Toothless had appeared right in front of him, which caused both of them to run into each other. The two friends ended up rolling around on the grass for a short time with Hiccup panting until he was completely out of breath. For several hours until early evening settled in, they just stayed there in the cove lying down on their backs, while watching the stars pass overhead.

"Okay. I think it's time for me to head back home now." Hiccup said as he started to get up from the grass and Toothless did the same.

"I'll see you tomorrow, bud. I promise." Hiccup said as he turned to leave and Toothless followed him over to the canyon entrance.

Toothless kept his eyes focused on Hiccup as he climbed up the stone ledges back to the entrance, while making sure to be extra careful of himself so that he wouldn't slip and fall. During his walk through the forest, Hiccup kept his mind on all kinds of things that he could write about in his next letter to Rapunzel. After taking some short time on whether he should go back to his childhood, or start with his teenage years, Hiccup decided to write from the fateful night that he shot down Toothless.

Since it was already dark outside, Hiccup thought that it would be best for him to get some much needed sleep first, and then he'll immediately get working on the letter in the morning. Suddenly, Hiccup's stomach began to growl and grumble, which caused him to think that meant he was pretty hungry, especially after all of that running he did with Toothless back in the cove. Hiccup was absolutely certain that nobody, or at least, not much people would be in the Great Hall at this time of night.

He was hoping that for once, although Hiccup did enjoy that the kids were giving him attention instead of ignoring him, and the adults weren't noticing him as an annoying nuisance, he wouldn't be bombarded with any questions. Unfortunately, his prayers to the Gods weren't exactly answered when Hiccup finally arrived at the large double doors of the Great Hall and opened them up just a little bit. Although Hiccup wasn't easily spotted himself, he had been able to see Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Thorston twins, along with a few townspeople were inside, which meant that they were probably waiting for him to come in at any moment now.

Hiccup let out a deep sigh, turning around to walk down the stairs. He'll might just have to wait until the next morning so that he would get something to eat. When Hiccup reached his house, he went upstairs to his room, and his first thought was to get into his bed, but Hiccup just couldn't stop thinking about Rapunzel and her letter.

He suddenly remembered that he had spent the past few hours during last night to make the riding saddle for Toothless, and there were many other nights in the past for which he had stayed up at the blacksmith shop working on not just to make drawings of new inventions, but to create them as well. Hiccup looked for a candle with a good amount of embedded wick to give enough light, and got out a few sheets of paper, as well as a pen. This was going to be a pretty long letter, for which Hiccup was going to be telling about many things as possible in his life, and he was hoping that Rapunzel would be most certainly be satisfied with it.


	8. The Young Boy's Story

Rapunzel was still feeling so cheery and gleeful with knowing that she finally had been given the opportunity by Mother Gothel to go outside and experience the outdoors. After doing her chores, she did her absolute best to keep herself busy as much as possible by enjoying brand new hobbies that she could do outside of the tower. Watching many beautiful butterflies flutter in the sky, rolling around in the bright green grass, and getting to not just feel it, but also be able to smell what it was like. Rapunzel loved being outside, and she was even starting to get a slight tan from the sunshine, now that she wasn't inside her tower all the time.

There was always something else that Rapunzel had loved to do outside from now on during that day, and it didn't involve nature or even the sun for that matter. That certain hobby happened to be waiting for a new letter to come from the "Person From The Outside World" in the mailbox that was near to her tower. Whether it was a boy or girl, they were still known to Rapunzel as a mysterious stranger ever since she had first made written contact to them. Mother Gothel had recently left the tower to go on another daily search into the forest to get more herbs and vegetables so that they would have more healthy meals cooked from fresh food.

Rapunzel was now laying down on her back while relaxing on the soft grass, breathing in the air, and hearing the sweet sounds of nature, while Pascal was doing the same, when suddenly, both of them heard a strange noise. Both of them instantly got up and were standing on the ground, and they started looking around for a while until Rapunzel had soon found something different with the mailbox. The red flag attached to the mailbox was standing up, so that definitely meant there was a brand new letter for Rapunzel to read, which caused her to jump and shout in excitement before happily running over to the mailbox. Rapunzel took a few deep breaths to calm herself down first before opening the small door and taking a look inside, to see there was actually more than just one sheet of paper. Before reaching inside to get the new letter inside the mailbox, Rapunzel looked around to find out which specific place Pascal was on the grass, and she carefully picked him up and placed the chameleon on her left shoulder.

"Pascal, look! We got another letter today! Whoever this person is, I'm really hoping that they've agreed with my idea and decided to tell us a lot more about themselves this time. Let's get back up to the tower and read it now!" Rapunzel said.

Pascal soon held onto Rapunzel for dear life just as his best friend closed the door of the mailbox, and lowered the flag before she raced through the grass, climbed up the secret staircase into the tower, and up another staircase to her room, and took a seat in front of her vanity mirror.

Dear Rapunzel,

I thought about what you said in your letter for a while, and I decided that you were absolutely right. There's really no point in writing to each other anymore if we can't be honest about who we really are. I just hope that you have a lot of time to read this letter, because it sure took a long time last night for me to write this.

My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and I'm fifteen years old, which is only just two years younger than you. I live with a Viking tribe called the Hairy Hooligans on the Isle of Berk, where my father is the chief, and his name is Stoick the Vast. Ever since I was just two years old, I've been working as an apprentice (assistant) for my dad's friend, Gobber the Belch. Over the years, he's taught me everything that I needed to know about blacksmithing, since he's very skilled with it, during any time when he has to quickly make repairs on weapons and provide them for the people who need them most in battle.

I like to draw very much, and that's why I frequently keep a sketch pad with me everywhere I go, drawing the things I find interesting. Over the course of 7 generations, (300 years) Berk has been continuously raided by dragons of all different species, prompting a war between them and our tribe. Whenever the dragons do come to our village, they always manage to both steal our livestock and burn our homes every time.

Like every other young Viking on Berk, I'm expected to fight and kill a dragon in order to be considered a true Viking. However, I'm very small and skinny for a Viking my age, and I can hardly lift and use traditional Viking weapons. I also has a tendency to cause accidents, which is why my dad tries so hard to keep me indoors as often as possible. That didn't exactly stay that way, when especially during one particular attack on the village while I was working in the blacksmith shop.

I decided that I was going to finally prove myself as a Viking and capture a dragon using my own methods rather than standard Viking brutality. Using a bola shot from a cannon I built himself and called "The Mangler", I was overjoyed when it caught a dragon in mid-air, thinking that was the rare and dangerous Night Fury. However, no one else in the village believed me, usually because no one had ever even seen a Night Fury, yet alone brought one down. Despite being told to go home, I disobeyed my dad and headed out to the forest at Raven's Point to bring back the dragon's heart as proof to my dad.

I searched for some time but couldn't seem to find where the dragon went down. Luckily, I managed to find a broken tree and churned up ground, which lead me to the downed dragon which was tied up in the bola shot of my invention. I attempted to cut out the dragon's heart with his knife, but when I noticed how afraid the dragon from looking at his eyes, I couldn't bring himself to kill the dragon. After cutting him free from the ropes, the Night Fury pounced on me and gave an angry roar before disappearing into the forest, and I soon fainted from the encounter.

When I got back home, my dad told me that to enlist me into Dragon Training hoping it will toughen me up before he left that night to lead an expedition to find the Dragon's Nest. On the first day of Dragon Training, I was nearly killed by a dragon after a rather sudden start to the lesson from Gobber, prompting the other students to make fun of me. Gobber stated that I was lucky because a dragon "always goes in for the kill", so then I went back to where I found the Night Fury, wondering why he didn't do the same to me. Following the path the dragon flew off to, I noticed that half of the Night Fury's tail fin was torn off in it's crash and it couldn't exit the small cove which it's become trapped in.

While I was attempting to finally record some actual information about Night Furies, I accidentally dropped my pencil in the cove and alerted the dragon to my presence. To my amazement, all the Night Fury did was just stare me down and it didn't make any effort to fly up to where I was and attack, which left me very curious about the dragon. After barely surviving a Deadly Nadder and getting yelled at by Astrid in Dragon Training the next day, I headed to the cove, as I brought a fish with me, since I thought that he would be hungry. Once I threw away my knife, the Night Fury looked impressed and he cautiously took my offering of fish by using its retractable teeth.

He lowered his large black head and advanced on me, while I staggered backwards, lost my balance, fell and crawled away until I was up against one of the large boulders in the canyon. The Night Fury stared at me for only a few seconds before it pulled back a little and then started making a strange gagging sound. The dragon slightly rolled back its' eyes and gagged once again until it opened his mouth and half of the fish that I gave him slid down his tongue and right into my lap. He rose up onto his hind legs, and sat back on his back legs, elbows resting on his knees, watching me just like a human.

I sat upright against the boulder still holding the fish tail in my hands, while I was still not sure what to do with it, and I looked up to stare at the Night Fury, who was staring right back at me with large expectant eyes, and an awkward silence followed before the dragon glanced down at the fish in my hands, and then back at me. To stay on good terms with the Night Fury, I ate part of the fish with some disgust and I was surprised to see the dragon try to imitate the smile that I gave to prove that I enjoyed eating the fish. However, when the dragon noticed that I was trying to touch him, the Night Fury's smile disappeared, and it flew off to the other side of the cove, and I followed him, since he wasn't that far away from me.

While he wasn't looking, I took another chance to go for the tip of his tail, and I was about to touch him, when he swung his tail up and he stared at me, looking really annoyed, and that's why I quickly turned and walked away, trying to make it look like I had never wanted to touch his tail in the first place. I walked back to the rock that I had been pinned against only two minutes before and sat down on it, using a thin stick to sketch on the ground in front of me. I looked up from the ground to see Toothless leap up to an overhanging tree root, as he grasped the root with his feet and looped his tail over and folded his wings around his body. It looked like I was going to have to wait for Toothless come to me. I didn't care how long I had to wait. Even if I had stayed there all night, nobody would come wondering where I wandered off to.

I had just gotten the head of a Night Fury drawn when I felt something approach from behind me and I knew the dragon was watching. The dragon followed the movement of the stick with his eyes, occasionally letting out a curious whine. He watched me for about five seconds and then disappeared from behind me, and I figured he'd just gotten bored. After all, drawing was one of those things that was only fun if you were doing it yourself.

A second later I heard the noise of a small tree being uprooted, and I had to turn around. The dragon danced up in front of me a second later, holding the tree in his mouth and using it to create swirls and circles on the ground. He passed by me again and the branches of his sapling whacked me on the back of my head. The Night Fury continued to twirl around the dirt with the stick for a few minutes, and then he stopped, looked at me proudly, before he stepped back to admire his drawing, while I was right in the middle of the web of his lines.

I started walking away, wondering if I should come back but then he growled. One look at the ground, I was stepping on a line. I lifted my leg and he went back to purring. Glancing at him, I placed my leg down and pulled it back. Same reaction. I stepped on it again, and he looked ready to attack me.

Once I lifted my leg, I made sure that I stepped over the line. I looked back at the dragon, seeing him looking at me and not trying to attack made me continue, stepping over lines. Over the lines I stepped, making sure I went over each and every one. My arms helped me keep balance and I realized what I was doing. It felt like I was dancing, I was free and light as air, as nothing in the world could restrain me…

I stepped into the last empty space and felt warm breath on the back of my neck, which had me turn around and gasp. The Night Fury was standing right behind me, and he looked impressed that I navigated through the drawing without stepping on the lines. Again, on impulse, I slowly reached my hand out to the dragon, but he growled slightly looking uncertain. I drew my hand back. I had to show Toothless I meant him no harm, and so I closed my eyes and turned my head away and held my hand out to Toothless one more.

I didn't care if he bit my whole arm off, I trusted this dragon, and I just wanted him to know that. I won't hurt you...I thought willing Toothless to understand. Something warm and soft touched my palm, and the warmth ran right down my arm and I gasped opening my eyes while I turned to look…My hand was resting against the Night Fury's nose, and the dragon opened his eyes and we looked at each other straight in the eyes. It was only for an instant, but it felt like we already understood everything about each other.

The Night Fury snorted, drew back, and ran over to the other side of the pond; leaving me standing where I was wondering if it had all really happened, or if I was dreaming. After a few seconds, I started to leave, retrieving my pencil along the way, and just before leaving through the opening where my shield was wedged into I turned around to see the Night Fury watching me. While we were looking at each other immediately thought of a name: Toothless. I know, why name a dragon "Toothless" when he actually has teeth? Seeing him without his teeth just stuck in my head. It was almost dark by the time I got back to my house, where I managed to stash the shield in my house before anyone noticed me, and I was about to go upstairs when Gobber knocked at the door, and I ran down to answer.

He told me that him and the rest of the Dragon Training class were headed to one of the watch towers for dinner. I actually didn't want to but Gobber dragged me along anyway, and he was probably going to just tell us the story about how he lost his leg and hand. It was the first time for the rest of the class hearing the story; I on the other hand had heard it several times before and it always changed slightly with every telling. I only listened with half an ear, still thinking about Toothless. While everyone else was talking, I was still lost in thought. Toothless couldn't fly…and it was all my fault. I just stared at my fish and then I remembered that Toothless couldn't even get a decent meal from the fish in the pond, and my stomach tightened into a big guilty knot.

It wasn't until Gobber had something that got me to leave the watch tower. "It's the tails and the wings you want, if it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dragon." I went back to the blacksmith shop to get working throughout the night on a new tail for Toothless. I spent my time furiously making rods, disassembling broken weapons, creating movable joints, and cutting leather, before I finished early in the morning, and it was early enough to test my new invention. So basically, that's all of what has happened in my life before I saw the mailbox in the cove, and started writing letters back to you. If you have any questions from anything that I told you, please feel free to put them in your next letter before sending it.

Sincerely, Hiccup

As soon as Rapunzel was finished with reading the incredibly long letter, she felt very happy and relieved to know not only the person whom she's been making written contact with, but also of the many events that took place in his life before he began to write to her. She quickly found a blank sheet of paper for herself and got herself thinking of the questions that she wanted to write down, while going through the letter just one more time.


	9. The Young Girl's Questions

Even though Hiccup couldn't seem to get Rapunzel out of his mind, he was at least able to concentrate and finish the Dragon Training exam in the kill ring, where he had tamed a Gronckle by rubbing some garlic grass against its' nose into submission. Once the exam was over, Hiccup found a basket and once again, filled it with Toothless' favourite fish, and put on the riding vest and grabbed the tools and supplies he left in his room at his house before making his way through the forest until he was at the entrance for the cove. The hours that he spent with Toothless were the happiest of the day. Besides, Hiccup always liked running, and finally there was someone that he could run with and he didn't have to worry about someone shouting the name "Coward" after him or yell at him to get back inside during a dragon raid.

Hiccup could already see Toothless, who was gliding around, and even though he couldn't clear the canyon walls, the prosthetic tail fin had opened up enough so he could glide around a little without crashing headfirst to the ground. Hiccup was quite cautious in going down the stone ledges to the floor of the canyon, and he carefully went under the shield that was still stuck between two of the rocks, before walking over to Toothless, because his feet were rather exhausted and needed a break from running all the way to the cove. When Toothless had caught sight of Hiccup and the basket he was carrying, the dragon immediately stopped his gliding activity, and rushed over to Hiccup, but was careful not to accidentally crash into him and get him hurt.

"Hey, bud, it's great to see you too. I got here as fast as I could, because I'm sure that you're practically starving, so I made sure to bring your favourite food, but you have to wait just a little longer, because I'd like to see if there's anything new inside that mailbox over there." Hiccup reminded.

Hiccup walked to the the mailbox, while carrying the basket of fish, and carefully set it down before taking a close look at the mailbox, in which the red flag attached to it was standing up, so Hiccup immediately knew that a new letter from Rapunzel was waiting for him. He opened up the small door, put one of his hands inside to feel just a single sheet of paper, instantly took it out, and closed the small door of the mailbox before reading the letter.

Dear Hiccup,

I'd like to thank you very much for not only telling me about who you are, but also everything that has happened in your life so far before you started writing to me. You mentioned at the end of your letter that if I had any questions to ask about any of the things that you wrote down, I should write them in my next letter, and that's why I went through your long letter for a second time to look back on what caught my interest the most.

1\. How many types of dragons are there, and what are their names?

2\. Who or what is this "Astrid", and do they happen to be a dragon too?

3\. Do you and your father have a great relationship with each other?

4\. You didn't mention your mother at least once, so what's she like?

5\. How did your parents manage to give you the name "Hiccup"?

6\. Are you the only person in Dragon Training, or are there other people?

7\. Could you be willing to send me one of your drawings sometime?

8\. Is there anything good that you're able to cook or bake at home?

9\. Can you promise not to tell anyone else in Berk about us writing letters?

10\. Besides Toothless, do you have any other friends to hang out with?

11\. Even though it sounds quite silly to ask at this point, can we be friends?

I believe that's all of the questions I could come up with, and believe it or not, I actually would have thought of more to ask you, but I'm sure that it might probably take a lot of your time. I would appreciate it very much if you could have an answer for each and every question of mine.

Sincerely, Rapunzel

While only about two questions had caused Hiccup to laugh for just a few short seconds, like the one that asked if Astrid was a dragon, and another asking if he could cook or bake, the rest of the questions left Hiccup with a sad feeling, and he almost felt like he was going to cry, but he knew that it wasn't such a good time. Hiccup closed the door of the mailbox, lowered the red flag, and put Rapunzel's letter in a pocket of his fur vest before taking it off and laying it on the ground, so that he could put on his riding vest to take few more practice runs to test Toothless' saddle up in the sky.

"Toothless, I'm sorry to keep you waiting again, but you don't have to worry anymore, because starting now, I'll be having my focus on you, and so before we begin on another crash course, I should have you eat your breakfast first..." Hiccup said.

He brought the basket down on the ground, and kicked it over, causing the contents of the basket to spill out, allowing the stench of dead fish to fill the air. Hiccup quickly covered his nose to avoid the smell, and while Toothless had started on eating the amount of one hundred salmon and Icelandic cod by bringing his head deeper into the basket, Hiccup assembled the last few parts of the saddle to his tail and the prosthetic tail fin.

Basically, a cord would run from the prosthetic tail fin to the left stirrup, and depending on how Hiccup pressed on it with his foot, it would alter the angle of the prosthetic tail fin and then Toothless would be able to fly the way he normally did before Hiccup knocked him out of the sky, and he still had guilty feelings about doing that. Just as Toothless finished his breakfast of fish, Hiccup hopped onto his back, and attached the metal loops of his leather belt to the metal hooks on Toothless' saddle.

"Alright Toothless! Let's go!" Hiccup shouted, and Toothless threw the basket away with his teeth before he thrust his wings downward and in a matter of only a few seconds, they were off the ground.


	10. The Friendship Begins

After she had finished doing all of her daily chores, Rapunzel decided to make a change today and skip on her usual hobbies by staying up in her room and read all of the letters that Hiccup sent to her so far, especially the long letter detailing of what happened in his life before he wrote to her. From reading the letters all over again, Rapunzel could definitely tell that Hiccup wasn't some dangerous thug or ruffian that Mother Gothel had frequently warned her about not so long ago, considering the fact that he's a fifteen year old Viking who chose not to kill a dragon when he had the chance. Of course, that wasn't the only thing which had Rapunzel so astounded, it was also that Hiccup eventually managed to gain the dragon's trust by giving him a fish, eating part of it, and then making drawings of each other in the dirty ground, which she thought was very adorable.

She couldn't wait to find out if Hiccup had given a wonderful answer for all of the ten questions that she sent to him in her letter, and what his answers would be, so Rapunzel didn't see the point of waiting in her room when she could just go outside and enjoy the weather. Just as Rapunzel came out of the tower from taking the last step of the secret staircase, she saw and heard the magical mailbox make its' usual movement of having the red flag raised up all on its' own, but Rapunzel already knew what that meant, and raced over to the mailbox, opening its' door. She decided to read Hiccup's letter right now while laying down on the grass on her stomach with her feet up near the mailbox, and that she would show it to Pascal later today.

Dear Rapunzel,

Although it did take a long time to get this letter done, I knew that it was very important to get it to you as soon as possible, so that's why I thought that every answer should be good enough for you to enjoy, so here they are, and I really hope that you're satisfied with them.

1\. I'm not exactly sure how many types of dragons there are, and which are still alive to this day, but I do know that there's a lot of them, thanks to reading the Dragon Manual. It's a book which is given to the students of Dragon Training in order for them to study up on the dragons they will be facing in their upcoming exams.

All of the dragons in the manual are spread into 7 classes: Stoker, Boulder, Fear, Sharp, Tidal, Mystery, and Strike.

Here's an easy and short description for each of the classes.

Stoker: These dragons are dangerous fire-breathers.

Boulder: These dragons are tough, rock-eating dragons.

Fear: These dragons are sneaky and deadly at the same time.

Sharp: These dragons possess razor sharp qualities and a generous dose of vanity.

Tidal: These dragons live underwater, and it's usually where they spend their time.

Mystery: No one really knows what these dragons can do, since they have very mysterious personalities.

Strike: These dragons are best known for their pin-point accuracy, lightning speed, vice like jaw strength, and extreme intelligence.

Each exam takes place in the Kill Ring, which is also a sort of prison for captured dragons, and it's a big, dome like center that's chained off at the top to prevent the dragons from escaping. There are only five specific dragons we face in the Kill Ring: the Deadly Nadder, the Gronckle, the Hideous Zippleback, the Terrible Terror, and finally, the Monstrous Nightmare, which is typically the dragon that only one person must kill in a final test in order to become a true Viking. I would really like to describe all of those five dragons for you, but I'm sure that it would take up a lot of space on these sheets of paper, and if it went that way, I couldn't be able to give an answer the rest of your questions.

2\. Astrid Hofferson isn't a dragon at all, but a teenage Viking girl of the Hairy Hooligans tribe who attends the exams of Dragon Training with me, although I have to admit that I laughed from reading that question. I've known Astrid ever since back when we were kids, but the two of us haven't been very close over the years, because she's usually serious and extremely dedicated to becoming a Viking Warrior. Astrid's generally not interested in spending time with the other teenagers, including me, preferring to study and train on her own in order to become a better fighter.

Astrid's had the most success in Dragon Training, and she takes much pride in being the best, so when I suddenly got better than her by using the new skills with the dragons in the exams that I learned from training Toothless, she's become extremely jealous and suspicious of me. I've actually had a crush on Astrid for many years, because she's striking, tough, beautiful, but her hard and driven persona makes her quite difficult to be impressed by anyone, especially me, but I've now managed to get her attention, by overtaking her spot as the star student.

Astrid has took notice of my unexplained absences after the Dragon Training exams, although no one has really commented on it, and she's already tried a few times to find out where I've been going to, and what I've been hiding, but luckily, she's failed to discover anything. Before I even met Toothless, I've always been dreaming and imagining of Astrid being my girlfriend, but now, I'm not so sure that's going to happen, and I don't really know if that's what I still want, because I think that having Toothless as a best friend is more than enough for me.

3\. My relationship with my father, Stoick the Vast, hasn't really been so great, because we seem to be complete opposites of each other. While my father is large, strong, brawny, and the best dragon fighter in the village, I'm lanky, weak, brainy, and perhaps initially, at least the worst dragon fighter on this island. Our relationship's become strained because of these differences, and so before I captured Toothless, I've always wanted to make my father proud by attempting to slay dragons but I just end up making things worse most of the time. Whenever the two of us have a conversation, it's typically one-sided with my father doing the talking and me trying to get a word in edgewise.

Right now, my father's away on an expedition he's leading to search for the Dragon's Nest, which is the home to all of the dragons that come by to terrorize our village. I'm sure that when my father gets back, he'll really be surprised to hear how that I've blossomed into the most promising dragon slayer in Dragon Training. He'll also want to talk to me, especially to get the details of my success which, unbeknownst to him and everyone else on that expedition, has been from the time he has spent with Toothless. Whether or not I win the honor of getting to kill the Monstrous Nightmare, I want to be able to show my father that there's so much more to dragons than what he's known about them, and hopefully, he'll might actually be glad once he finds out.

4\. I would like to say that you should be so lucky that you still have your mother in your life, because mine died when I was younger, and I'll get to how she died later on, but I'd want to write about the events which happened before her death came. My mother was and still is considered a great hero among the Hairy Hooligans, but was often away on a lot of raids and quests, leaving my father to raise me on his own. I'd always miss her while she was gone, so whenever she was here on Berk, we would do all kinds of fun things together: tickle fights, draw pictures, tell stories, and play tag. My mother was very beautiful, and she also had this soft voice that always made me feel warm inside, especially when she sang lullabies to help me fall asleep, feel better, or even just to see me smile and laugh.

She cared for me, let me do all of the things that I love, and comforted me when I was teased and made fun of by the other kids, but everything changed during a dragon raid on one night. A thunder storm was also going on that night, and I had sneaked out of the house for some reason I still don't even know, when suddenly, I was almost attacked by a dragon, but luckily my mother showed up to save me, and at the cost of her own life. Even though my father had told me plenty of times that it wasn't my fault, and it was only an accident, I refused to believe it, and as the years went by, I started to want to become a real Viking in order to not only impress Astrid, but also make my father proud.

5\. Although I'm pretty sure that I was at a very young age when I asked my mother this same question, I do think that I can still be able to remember what she told me. I was very small and delicate when I was born, no bigger than a loaf of bread, and I could almost fit into one of my father's palms, but that's not really a good thing. When a woman is pregnant, it usually takes nine months before she gives birth to the baby, but my mother was about seven months when she had started to go into labor.

Since I was born earlier than expected and smaller than the usual size of a newborn, I was a premature baby, and the chances of a premature baby surviving are always slim. It's a custom tradition that after the parents and the midwife (which is the woman trained to assist women during childbirth) see the baby, the village elder, Gothi, was the first person to see any new addition to the village. After all, it's always been her job to introduce the babies to the gods of the earth and to the population of Berk, and she breathed a sigh of relief, when I started to make the faintest of all noises out of my mouth, which were none other than hiccups.

I don't really know much about them, expect my mother had told me that they're sounds which you make several times per minute, and it's always been a rare occasion when you get them. So, anyway, my parents still hadn't decided on a name for me, but my mother wanted me to have a name that was different, and would help me sound special and stand out from the rest of the kids in the village. My mother loved the hiccups that I was making, because she thought that they were the most wonderful sound in the world to her, and also said that it was the sound of my strength, of his will, so before you know it, she and my father had decided to give me the name "Hiccup".

6\. No, I'm not the only teen in Dragon Training, and besides Astrid, who I mentioned is in the classes with me, there's four more teens who attend the classes, and I think that I'll have enough space to shortly describe each of them for you, since I'd already described Astrid.

Fishlegs Ingerman: He's the tallest and biggest of the Viking teens, normally acts nervous and frightened, always quotes statistics from the Dragon Manual, which he has read seven times, and he usually does this in Dragon Training, where it obviously annoys the rest of us.

Snotlout Jorgenson: He's egotistical, overconfident, very unintelligent, and since he's the son of my uncle, that makes him my cousin, and just like me, he also has a crush on Astrid, which is why he's tried on several occasions to impress her, even though he's failed every time.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston: They're twins: two babies born from the same woman, (Ruffnut is a girl, while Tuffnut is a boy), who are both hotheaded, wild, and reckless adrenaline junkies, have nasty tempers, share an equal dislike for reading the Dragon Manual.

7\. Of course, I will definitely send you a drawing of mine, and as I mentioned in a previous letter, I've drawn up many sketches of future inventions to capture dragons, all of which will never be made, and after I'd met Toothless, I've done a lot of sketches with him. When I do send a drawing to you, it will be the cove, which is the place where me and Toothless spend time together. Just so you know in advance, it won't have any color though, just like all of my sketches, and I'll do my absolute best to make it very beautiful. You recently wrote in one of your letters that your favourite hobby is painting, so if you don't mind, it would be nice for me and Toothless to see a self-made painting of you, Pascal, and the tower that you've been living in.

8\. Neither me or my dad have spent most of our time in the kitchen over the years, because it was usually up to my mother to feed all of us, and luckily for us, she knew how to cook and bake, but she did manage to leave a lot of her recipes in the house before she died. How about this, I'll be willing to do my best in making something that's not terrible in how it looks and tastes, and after I send it through the mailbox, you have to do the same thing, and we'll also keep whatever we're cooking/baking a surprise for each other.

9\. I promise that I won't show or tell anybody about the mailbox, and I'll make sure that it stays that way. Besides, I don't think telling anyone in my village about us writing letters will be such a good thing, especially with Astrid already being so jealous and suspicious. Luckily, everyone else in Berk still haven't found it even the slightest bit strange that I always run off after having a victory in Dragon Training, instead of celebrating with them, so I doubt that anyone will be interested in finding the cove and the mailbox any time soon.

10\. Before I was even placed in Dragon training, I didn't have any friends who wanted to hang out with me, because anyone who was at or around my age usually would rather have fun in teasing, taunting, and bullying me, but all of that changed when I met Toothless. Every time, it makes me feel so good that I can finally be able to talk to someone who's not only interested in what I have to say, but actually listens to me and doesn't want to belittle me because of my long known reputation as the town screw-up and social outcast. Ever since I found the mailbox in the cove a few days ago, I was worried at first that I would be making another enemy, but I'm now glad to be making contact with another person who doesn't judge, even though we don't physically see each other at all.

11\. Yes, we can be friends, and it wasn't silly of you to ask me this question, because my life isn't so busy at the moment, since there's not much going on besides getting up early for Dragon Training in the morning, so you could say that this is when our friendship officially begins.

Sincerely, Hiccup

After she was done reading the letter, Rapunzel excitedly ran back towards the tower, with her feet quickly touching the grass with every step she took, and she didn't stop running until she was back in her bedroom and called out for Pascal to come on her shoulder.

"Pascal, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about this sooner, but I recently got a new letter from Hiccup, and I'm so happy to say that this is officially going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship for me and Hiccup." Rapunzel announced.


	11. The Delicious Gifts

While he was awake in his bed, Hiccup had been hoping that Rapunzel was very satisfied right now with the answers that he'd given for each of her eleven questions from her last letter, considering that most of the answers he'd written were long and detailed, and now he was thinking of doing something different. He was delighted to hear from Gobber last night that there wouldn't be any Dragon Training in the morning, because of today being a certain holiday, and Hiccup didn't even bother to remember the name of it, so he decided to use the free time in making something delicious for Rapunzel. Since Rapunzel obviously didn't sound like the name of another teenage Viking from a faraway island, because Vikings were usually given a scary and hideous name and Hiccup believed that he just couldn't let this girl down, so it needed to be something which was both soft and tasteful.

Hiccup concluded that he should whip up a sweet dessert, even though they were normally made for birthdays and holidays, so he carefully searched the kitchen until he found his late mother's cookbook of recipes, and looked through the section before stopping at a certain delicacy. Hiccup checked the pantry and cupboards to get all of the ingredients that were required to make the recipe that he'd chose, and set all of them down on the table, but before he got started on doing anything, Hiccup rolled both of his sleeves up and put on an apron his mother had made and used to wear before she passed away.

Hiccup was glad that whether he succeeded or failed in his new baking mission, there wouldn't be any long lecture afterwards from his father about messing things up in the house and not using the kitchen when he's not around, and he would also get to enjoy the silence in the house. A fresh batch of lemon bars were the savory sweets that Hiccup was going to be making for Rapunzel and Pascal, at least if her chameleon would be allowed or interested in eating some of them too, and there were two parts for the lemon bars, which was the crust and filling, but they needed to be done separately.

"Here goes nothing," Hiccup said softly, just as he read the very first step of the instructions to the recipe, which was to preheat the oven with wood, and get a fire started, so once that was done, Hiccup began mixing a few of the ingredients together in a bowl with a spatula.

Hiccup blended the butter, flour, and sugar in the bowl until they created a light substance, and then he added the salt into it, going back to mixing until the combination of the ingredients became dough, which he dumped onto a well-floured board and gathered into a ball. After that, he flattened the dough with his floured hands, pressed it into a nine by thirteen by two-inch baking sheet, building up a half-inch edge on all sides, and while using his late mother's embroidered flower pattern gloves, Hiccup slid the baking sheet onto a shelf in the oven. He did a quick check at the recipe, which told him that in order for the crust had to be baked, it must stay in the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes before it gets taken out, so Hiccup decided on counting to sixty seconds for about seventeen times as a personal timer for the oven. Slowly, while using the gloves, when he pulled the baking sheet off the shelf and out of the oven, he was glad to see the crust was lightly brown, and laid the baking sheet down on the table to cool off, but Hiccup wasn't finished yet, because he still had to make the lemon filling too.

Using the spatula again, he whisked together the remaining sugar, flour, and eggs, as well as the grated lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice, before pouring the mixture over the baked crust and putting it back on the shelf in the oven to be baked for half an hour. Hiccup took out the baking sheet with one of the gloves, placed it down on the table, and he put out the fire in the oven with a few buckets of water, while he let the crust cool down to room temperature, then using a knife to cut into uniform two inch squares, and arrange in a checker board fashion. Finally, Hiccup dusted all of the square-shaped lemon bars with confectioners' sugar, and was about to take them out of the baking sheet when he started thinking of what he should put them into, so Hiccup searched the house until he found a brown paper bag which was big enough to carry them all. He first got himself cleaned up, with washing the flour off his hands, taking off his apron and gloves, rolling his sleeves down, and then tidied up the kitchen by putting the rest of the remaining ingredients, as well as the kitchen tools back to their places in the pantry and cupboards.

"Yeah! I did it!" Hiccup cheered, throwing his arms up in the air, feeling so proud of himself that his baking efforts must have worked out, especially since this was the very first time that he's been successful in the kitchen, but he still had to know whether Rapunzel would like them or not.

Hiccup also wanted to do more airborne tests with Toothless, so he put both his riding vest and cheat sheet for the dragon's prosthetic tail fin underneath his shoulder, but not before writing a short note for Rapunzel about the lemon bars, and reminding her to cook or bake something for him, so that they would be even, and going out the back door. Even though his father was still away to find the Dragon's Nest, and everybody else in Berk would be busy in some other way, Hiccup couldn't bother to face being interrogated by Astrid, who would definitely march right up to him, start asking constant questions, and not leave him alone until she got answers.

Luckily for Hiccup, she stopped making visits to his house a long time ago, which meant that she still didn't know about the back door, and he had managed to find the cove without tripping and hurting himself, or dropping any of the stuff that he was carrying on his long path through the forest. He made sure to be extra careful this time in going down the stone ledges, since he was holding a lot more than he usually did whenever he came to the cove, and as Toothless went over to greet his human friend, the dragon started to sniff his nose toward the brown bag of lemon bars Hiccup was holding.

"I'm sorry, Toothless, but these are for my new friend, Rapunzel, but I'm sure that when she's done eating them, she'll get ready to making a batch of tasty treats for us to eat, so I'm just going to put these in the mailbox first, and then, we're going to keep ourselves busy with a few more flying tests." Hiccup informed.

Toothless agreed in making a soft purring sound, and he watched as Hiccup walked over to the mailbox, opened up the door, put the brown bag inside, with the note on top of it, closed the door, and raised up the red flag, but not before dropping his riding vest and flying cheat sheet on the ground so that he could use both of his arms. Hiccup took off his fur vest, only to drop it on the grass, and then he picked up his riding vest to put it on, as well as the cheat sheet, holding it in one of his hands, before going over to Toothless, hopping onto his back, and attaching both himself and the cheat sheet to the saddle before taking off into the sky.

". . .and that's how he got the name "Hiccup". Now wasn't that such a great answer to my question, Pascal?" Rapunzel asked, and the chameleon agreed by squeaking, for which Pascal was so glad and grateful that Rapunzel didn't name him from the squeaks that he made when they first met.

Rapunzel had been reading Hiccup's most recent letter to Pascal, while she lay down on the grass on her stomach with her feet up, just like she was yesterday, and she was about to continue on reading the answer Hiccup gave for her sixth question, when she heard the mailbox and looked up to see the red flag stand up.

"Hiccup's sent a new letter for us! I wonder what it's gonna be about this time!" Rapunzel said, as she quickly got herself up from the ground, and wiped off anything that she got on her dress, but not before laying out the palm of her right hand for Pascal to stand on and she raised her palm up to her left shoulder, where he moved himself to.

When Rapunzel opened up the door of the mailbox, she was surprised to see that there wasn't any letter made up of one or more sheets of paper, but a brown paper bag, which she carefully pulled out with both of her hands, but as she did that, a small note fell onto the grass, and Rapunzel bent down to pick it up and read it.

Dear Rapunzel,

I remember that I told you in one of my answers for your questions in my most recent letter that I was willing to make something for you in the kitchen of my house, and that's what exactly I did this morning, and even though it took a while, I managed to bake a batch of lemon bars for you. Now then, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but it wouldn't really be fair for you to just eat them, and not make something for me in return, because it took a lot of time and effort earlier today to bake those lemon bars, so I'd appreciate it very much if you sent something of your own to me. There's about twenty square-shaped lemon bars inside the brown paper bag, and I'm not sure if Pascal is able to have some of them too, but I'm glad if he can, so I hope you and Pascal will enjoy them, and I'd appreciate it if you could please tell me in a note what you thought of them after you're finished.

Sincerely, Hiccup

"Look, Pascal! Our new friend has sent us more than just a letter, but also a fresh batch of lemon bars for us to have, so would you like to try one?" Rapunzel asked.

Just as she opened up the bag, the chameleon could quickly smell the lemon bars with his nose, which caused him to almost happily faint.

"Wow, I've never actually seen that reaction from you before, but I'm guessing that's a yes, so let's go inside the tower first before we have ourselves eating any of them, and I'm sure that you can wait at least a few more quick seconds, right?" Rapunzel added, and Pascal happily squeaked, while nodding his head.

Once again, the chameleon held on tightly to his friend's shoulder as she ran towards the tower, up the secret staircase to get inside it, and another staircase going up to her room, but not before closing the door of the mailbox, and lowering the red flag down, so that Hiccup would know she received his lemon bars. After all of that running she just did, Rapunzel carefully sat down in front of her vanity before reaching in the brown bag with one of her hands and pulling out at least four lemon bars, with two of them for her, and the other two for Pascal, who went off her shoulder and down her arm to stand on top of the vanity.

"Alright, Pascal, now that we're inside the tower, let's have a taste of these lemon bars," Rapunzel said, just before she and Pascal took a bite out of the lemon bar they were holding in one of their hands, and they soon groaned in delight from the taste of it, being a mix of tart and tangy, as well as sweet and sour too.

"Oh my goodness, this is absolutely delicious!" Rapunzel said, as she made a little jump of excitement, as the taste of the delectable dessert ran down her mouth and into her stomach. "I don't know why Hiccup was even worried about making these for us, because they're truly so incredible!" Rapunzel added.

Once both her and Pascal had finished eating their second lemon bar, Rapunzel looked down to see that Pascal was trying to open up the brown bag so that he could crawl in and get a few more for himself, but Rapunzel stopped her friend by grabbing his tail and holding him up to give a serious look.

"Sorry, Pascal, but it's going to be just two for today, so we're going to save the rest of the lemon bars for another time, or instead, we could each have two for every day until they're all gone. How does that sound to you?" Rapunzel suggested, and Pascal stood up to think about it before squeaking and nodding his head.

"Now that we've decided on a easy solution for this simple situation, it's time for me to go down to the kitchen, because I need to get working on a batch of our own tasty treats to make for Hiccup and Toothless, but of course, I'll need your help, so please come onto my shoulder." Rapunzel instructed, lending out her hand.

Pascal immediately crawled across the palm of her hand, then her clothed arm, and finally onto her left shoulder, but not before licking off any crumbs that Rapunzel must have still left on her hand, which caused her to let out a few giggles, since Rapunzel felt like she was being given a personal tickling by the chameleon. Rapunzel thought it was best to hide the lemon bars in a secret spot somewhere in her room, just in case Mother Gothel would want to come in and check on her, so Rapunzel put the brown bag in one of the drawers, before going downstairs to the kitchen, and looking around for Gothel's cookbook of famous recipes. Rapunzel flipped through the pages of the cookbook until she found the dessert section, and looked around carefully before pointing her finger at one of the recipes, which happened to be one on how to make chocolate chip cookies, which she believed were something that Hiccup and Toothless would love to try out.

"Hey, Pascal, how about we give thanks to our new friend by baking him and his dragon a batch of chocolate chip cookies of our own and sending them safely through the mailbox in a brown bag for them to eat? Do you think that twenty will be enough for them?" Rapunzel asked, to which Pascal gave a nod with his head.

"Alright, now let's get started!" Rapunzel announced, and searched through the pantry and cupboards for all of the ingredients required to make the cookies, but not before putting on her mother's apron, and checking the recipe to know exactly which ingredients first, and she laid all of them down on the kitchen table.

It didn't really take such a long time for Rapunzel to bake the cookies, and it wasn't even so difficult, considering the fact that she's done the recipe about a hundred times before, or probably a lot more times than that amount, and she carried what was left of the ingredients back to their spots in the pantry and cupboards. After that was done, Rapunzel absolutely made sure to look for any messes that she might have caused while she was doing her baking session, but to her luck, Rapunzel didn't find at least one, and even if there was a mess, it was much too small for anyone to find with their own eyes, and Pascal didn't even bother on looking for a mess.

Rapunzel did a complete search around the whole tower for a brown bag, just like the one Hiccup used to put his lemon bars in, but she couldn't find one, so she thought for a while of putting the cookies in that same bag, but quickly decided that she should have them in something that looks a lot more neat and different. She easily found a basket which was small enough to fit inside the mailbox and so she put the cookies into four rows of five in the basket before covering them with a napkin, so that way, all of the cookies could be able to stay warm and fresh for Hiccup even after he takes them out of the mailbox to taste them out.

"Wait a minute, when Hiccup sent the lemon bars through the mailbox, there was also a small note on top of the brown bag, then I should probably do the same thing by sending him a note, which would say thanks for the lemon bars, and talk about the next activity for us." Rapunzel said to herself in her head.

Once again, Pascal held on tightly to her friend's shoulder, as she went up the stairs to her bedroom, and searched around the room until she found a white sheet of paper, as well as a fountain pen, and took a seat at the vanity, and began writing on the white sheet, which only lasted less than a minute. When Rapunzel was finished with the note, she ran out of her room, and down the stairs to the kitchen, while carrying the note in one of her hands, and placed the note on top of the napkin-covered basket of her homemade cookies, before picking up the basket from the table, and going down the secret staircase.

Rapunzel was careful with not tripping on any step of the staircase, or even her hair, as she went a lot more slow this time, considering that Rapunzel wasn't carrying just another letter for Hiccup and she went back to running again right when her feet touched the grass, and reached the mailbox in a few quick seconds. She opened up the mailbox with one hand, and while using the other, and being extra careful, Rapunzel fit the basket inside the mailbox, closed the opening for it, raised the red flag up, and after she did all of those things, Rapunzel took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, especially from doing all of that running. As soon as Rapunzel had managed to get herself all relaxed, a smile had begun to appear on her face when she started to think of what Hiccup would be thinking about the cookies after he tasted them, but her thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted when Rapunzel heard a squeaking sound next to her left ear.

"I'm sorry, Pascal, but could you please tell me what you said, because I was thinking about Hiccup while you were talking," Rapunzel said, and her friend instantly raised an eyebrow from hearing what the girl just said, and Rapunzel widened her eyes when she realized what Pascal must have been thinking about.

"What I meant to say was that I had been thinking about what Hiccup will think about our cookies when he gets the chance to eat him, and maybe Toothless will like them too, at least, if a dragon's even allowed to have chocolate every once in a while, and I'm hoping that he'll absolutely love my idea for our next activity." Rapunzel explained.

Rapunzel raised up her right hand to her left shoulder for Pascal to stand on it, and he quickly let out a few more squeaks, as he wanted to know exactly what was going to the next activity his friend had mentioned, and Rapunzel knew that it would be better to just tell Pascal instead of keep it a secret from him.

"Relax, Pascal, I'll tell you, and so the next activity that me and Hiccup are going to do is drawing." Rapunzel announced, before walking to get back inside the tower.


	12. The Beautiful Drawing

When Hiccup and Toothless flew back to the cove on that very same day, the two of them landed on a wide space which was not so far away from the mailbox. Hiccup looked closely at it and smiled to see that the red flag was standing up, and he quickly unhooked himself from Toothless' saddle and got off the dragon to walk over to it. He opened the door to find a big basket inside, and so when Hiccup carefully pulled it out of the mailbox, he instantly became interested with whatever was underneath the basket. Hiccup also saw a folded note on top of the basket, and at the same time, he could smell the mysterious gift that Rapunzel sent him, but he thought that it was best to read the note first.

Dear Hiccup,

Me and Pascal tried some of your lemon bars just earlier today, and they were absolutely delicious, but we're not going to eat them all, so that's why we're going to save the rest of them for another time. I read the note you sent about me having to make something for you so that we would be even, and that's why me and Pascal got busy in the kitchen to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies for you. I'm don't know if Toothless will be able to have some, but I'm sure that he'll enjoy the taste of them if he can, so anyway, I made a total of about twenty cookies, giving you and Toothless to each have about ten. I went through your last long letter again, and it's got me thinking for a while of what could be the next activity for us, and I've decided that it should be drawing.

I'd really like to see what the cove looks like, and from the way that you talked about it, I can only imagine that it's truly a beautiful place for you and Toothless to spend time together. How about this, after you send me a self made drawing of you and Toothless in the cove, then I'll send you a painting of the tower where me and Pascal live in. Just like with the baked treats, you can go first with a drawing of your own, and once I've received it, I'll get started on my painting, but please send me a note to remind me, otherwise I might probably forget. Thank you so much for the lemon bars, Hiccup, and when you write back, make sure to include of what you and Toothless thought of our cookies, and that would be great!

Sincerely, Rapunzel

Once he was done with reading the note, Hiccup closed the mailbox, and lowered the red flag down before walking back to Toothless while carrying the note in one hand and the basket with the other one. Toothless was soon rushing over to his friend when he could easily smell the cookies from under the basket, and Hiccup knew right away that his dragon loved the smell from the way his tongue was hanging out.

"Easy there, bud! If you must know, Rapunzel and her friend liked my lemon bars so much that they wanted to give us their own tasty treats, so first, let's take a look, shall we?" Hiccup asked, while giving a grin.

The Night Fury quickly nodded his head, and he tried his best to keep himself perfectly still as he watched his best friend pull the napkin off from the basket, which finally revealed the warm and fresh cookies. As hard as he tried, Toothless couldn't have any more patience and just when he was about to run toward Hiccup and take the basket from his grip, he was stopped when Hiccup put up his palm in front of his sight.

"Don't you worry, bud." Hiccup said, as he brought his palm back down. "You're gonna get some, but it would be a good idea to save the rest of them, just like Rapunzel is doing with my lemon bars now." He added.

Hiccup thought for a moment before reaching down into the basket and picking up about two cookies, and brought them up to his nose for a better smell of them first.

"Alright, bud, now listen very closely," Hiccup said, as he brought the cookies down from his face. "We're each going to have just one cookie, or maybe even two, but only if the cookies are that good, understand?" He questioned.

Toothless did another nod of his head, and watched as Hiccup threw one of the cookies up in the air, also being in the dragon's direction, and the dragon kept his eyes on the cookie before finally catching it with his mouth. Once he saw that Toothless had easily caught his cookie, Hiccup took a bite out of the one he was holding in one of his hands, and he literally almost dropped the basket he held in the other right when the taste buds kicked in.

"Oh my gods, that is so good!" Hiccup exclaimed, as he just couldn't believe that Rapunzel could be able to bake such delicious-tasting cookies, but baking must have been one of the things she learned to do over the years.

Toothless was beginning to think that Hiccup wasn't looking, as his eyes were constantly opening and closing, he crouched down on the grass and started to crawl towards the basket of cookies by taking very small steps. Just when the dragon had managed to touch the basket with one of his claws, he turned his head to see Hiccup giving him a hard and serious look, while still eating his cookie, before moving the basket out of Toothless' reach.

"Sorry, bud, but you're not going to have any more of these, at least, if you keep it up with being so impatient and sneaky like that, so please wait until I'm done with my cookie so that we can have another one at the same time, okay?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless let out some kind of a whiny sound, which was like as if it was coming from a dog who was awfully wounded, or just didn't want his friend to leave him all alone.

"Don't worry, bud, I'm not going to take any longer," Hiccup said, as he put the cookie up to his mouth once again. "It will just be one more minute, I promise." He added.

With that said, Hiccup put the rest of the cookie in his mouth, and to the dragon's displeasure, he took a while to enjoy the flavour of dough and chocolate before swallowing.

"Alright, bud, now that I'm done with the first cookie, each of us can have a second," Hiccup announced, as his hand went in the basket to grab two more cookies for them.

Just like he did earlier, Hiccup threw one of the cookies in the air and in Toothless' direction, to which he caught easily, while Hiccup took a bite of the cookie he had in his hand. While the smell of the cookie alone made Toothless feel like he was about to faint, the taste of it had caused him to imagine as if he was already up in the beautiful skies of Heaven. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh for a little bit when he saw his best friend's state of happiness, especially with the way that Toothless was rolling around in the grass on his back.

Hiccup assumed that the dragon was possibly dreaming the cove, or even the clouds high above both of them, were filled with lots of chocolate chip cookies just for him to eat. As much as he wanted to approach Toothless, and tell him that he would see him later, Hiccup thought it was better to quietly leave, so he could put the rest of the cookies in his house. After he was finished with eating his second cookie, Hiccup carefully took small steps backward, so that he could keep his eyes on Toothless, and make his way out of the cove at the same time.

Once he got himself at a very far distance away from the Night Fury, Hiccup changed his movement from slow walking to fast running for the entrance to the quiet clearing. Hiccup decided to carry the basket of cookies over his left shoulder as he climbed the stone ledges back up to the forest, and he turned to have one last look at Toothless before going any further. He eventually burst into laughter for quite a while, and Hiccup was careful not to drop the basket by accident, since he didn't want Rapunzel to be making another batch of cookies, if the ones he had with him were on the ground.

When Hiccup was done laughing, his mind went to the basket, and he began to think of an explanation for anyone who saw him as soon as he came back to Berk, and unfortunately, he came to the conclusion that there wasn't a good one. Once again, he would have to be very careful and sneak through the village until he arrived at his house, and do the same when leaving to meet up wit Toothless at the cove. Most certainly, Hiccup didn't want to be confronted by Astrid, and deal with another interrogation of being asked where he's been and what he's been doing with all of his time.

Just as Hiccup reached Berk, there didn't seem to be anyone in sight, but he still remained cautious though, doing a routine of taking a few steps and stopping to look around. To his luck and relief, he managed to avoid being caught by any of the villagers, and he quickly went up to his room, and started to search for a safe spot to leave the basket. It didn't take long for Hiccup to find a good place for it, and so he crouched down on his knees to the wooden floor and moved the basket until it was under the center of his bed.

After that was finally dealt with, Hiccup found a charcoal pen and a sheet of paper which was large enough for him to make a drawing of the secluded and beautiful clearing, as well as another sheet to make a note for Rapunzel. With the pen, and two sheets of paper in his hands, Hiccup began to go down the stairs when he thought that he heard a knock be made on the other side of the front door. He put all of the things that he was carrying on the dinner table before walking over to open the door, and he was quite surprised to see that it wasn't Astrid who was there.

"Oh, Hiccup, I was actually worried for a moment that you wouldn't be here," Fishlegs said. "I was hoping if you'd like to hang out with me, Snotlout, and the twins." He requested.

"I would love to, Fishlegs, but I really wanted to go out into the forest and do some drawings of nature itself, you know, like the trees and all of their leaves." Hiccup replied.

"That's okay, maybe the four of us could come along and help you out, with making sure you don't trip and fall, and giving you a boost to get up in trees." Fishlegs suggested.

"It's nice of you to offer that, but I can't imagine either the twins or Snotlout would ever enjoy doing things for me while being in the middle of the forest." Hiccup responded.

"Alright, Hiccup, we'd love to see what you've drawn when you get back, but if you ever change your mind, just make sure to find any one of us and let us know." Fishlegs said.

"Don't worry, I'll keep that in mind." Hiccup replied, and just when he was about to turn around and go back in his house, he stopped as a thought quickly came in his head.

"Hold on, Fishlegs, before you go, could you please tell me if you've seen Astrid lately, because I haven't seen her anywhere in the village last time I checked." Hiccup mentioned.

"I think that she's either still training with her axe in the kill ring, or she's probably doing that while being out in the woods, which I believe is actually a much better area. Why, were you planning to look for her?" Fishlegs asked.

"Oh no, I wasn't, and because I know that Astrid hasn't exactly been in a great mood ever since I've begun beating her in dragon training more often, she's become the last person that I want to see from now on." Hiccup explained.

"Honestly, I don't blame you, and even though I can understand Astrid being upset, considering that she used to be at the top of the class before, I just don't get why she can't ever be the slightest bit happy that you're doing better?" Fishlegs said.

"Me neither, and I have to say that I'm not interested with finding out anytime soon, but anyway, it was nice talking to you, Fishlegs. I guess that I'll see you later?" Hiccup replied.

"Yes, so if you're still in the woods when it gets dark, then me and the others will just meet up with you for dinner at the Great Hall, and maybe you could tell us of how you've improved in Dragon Training?" Fishlegs suggested.

"You never know," Hiccup responded. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't, and that's all I'll say for now." He added, while trying the best he could to play coy about the subject.

"Okay then, so it seems like we'll just have to wait until tonight to find out for sure. Anyway, I hope that you have a lot of fun doing art in the woods." Fishlegs said, before leaving.

"Whew, it's a good thing that it wasn't Astrid at the door, or else, I would've been. . .on second thought, it's better to just stop thinking about that." Hiccup thought to himself.

After he closed the front door, Hiccup walked over to the dinner table, picked up his pen and sheets of paper before heading out the back door of his house with both of his things. If Astrid actually was somewhere in the woods training super hard with her axe, then Hiccup would have to be extra careful so that he wouldn't manage to get spotted by her. However, she would've caught sight of the big basket he was carrying earlier, or even heard the laughing he made, so he seemed sure that Astrid was either in the ring or at her house. Since Hiccup didn't believe that there was any reason for him to be worried anymore, he was able to enjoy the walk all the way back to the quiet and peaceful clearing.

When he finally reached the entrance and passed through it, Hiccup could be able to see that Toothless wasn't sprawled out on the grass, as he was now taking a nap. After Hiccup carefully went down the stone ledges, he started thinking for a moment about going over to the dragon and waking him up, but quickly decided that Toothless would need the rest if they were going to do another flight. Hiccup figured that the plan right now would be for him to make the drawing and send it to Rapunzel first, then lay against Toothless and take a nap of his own, so he could pass the time in waiting for Rapunzel to send her painting to him. Now, Hiccup was thinking that in order to include the lake in the drawing, he would either have to stand on a very tall rock or go back out through the entrance and find a spot where he could manage to see the clearing from above.

He decided to choose the latter, even though that meant he had to get back out of the cove, and so while still carrying his things, Hiccup climbed up to the entrance, and after doing that, he went around to look for a good view of the clearing. Luckily for the teenager, it didn't take so long for him to find one, and he immediately went to work on the drawing, taking his time with it, while occasionally looking up at the cove so that he wouldn't mess up on any part of the drawing. Once Hiccup was finally finished, he made his way back down to the grassy floor of the clearing and walked over to the mailbox, but before he put the drawing inside, Hiccup wrote a note for Rapunzel with the other sheet of paper first. Hiccup was positive that Rapunzel would absolutely love his drawing, considering that he spent somewhere between half an hour and an entire hour working on it. After he put the drawing into the mailbox, with also the note being on top of it, Hiccup raised the red flag before he walked over to the spot where Toothless was sleeping, laid down next to the dragon's chest, and closed his eyes, eventually falling asleep.


	13. The Strange Nightmare

Rapunzel was laying down comfortably on her back outside the tower, having both of her hands under her head, with Pascal right beside her, being in the same position. While it was still important for the girl to do her chores every day, she didn't find it necessary to do any hobbies in the tower anymore when she had a lot of new hobbies that she could do outside. She was able to take a walk or run around the tower and get to enjoy the fresh grass underneath her feet, as well as enjoy the feel the cool breeze and sunlight on her skin.

Suddenly, her time of relaxation was interrupted when Rapunzel heard a sound close by, and a smile grew on her face when she looked up to see that the red flag of the mailbox had just come down. In a matter of only ten seconds or maybe even less, Rapunzel got up quickly from her spot on the grass, ran excitedly toward the mailbox, and opened it up to see what was inside of it. The long haired girl pulled out two large sheets of paper, and while one of them was rolled up, the other was not, but Rapunzel decided to take a look at the non-rolled up sheet of paper first.

Dear Rapunzel,

Me and Toothless each had at least two of your cookies, and they were definitely amazing, and believe it or not, but I've never really known what chocolate tasted like, because we've never had chocolate on Berk before. I'm sure that you would've laughed just like I did if you saw Toothless after he ate each of the cookies, as he was rolling around in the grass while having his tongue out like some sort of desperate dog begging for more food. I decided to do the same and save the rest of the cookies to have for another day, so I recently made a quick trip back to my house so that I could put the cookies in a safe place so that nobody could be able to find them.

I also wanted to let you know in this note that I've finished the drawing that you requested, and obviously, it's the sheet that you found rolled up in the mailbox, and trust me, you'll want to have it hung up in your room. It's a drawing of the cove, which has always been the place where me and Toothless spend our time together, and since you've wrote that you and Pascal live in a tower, maybe you could send me a painting of what it looks like. I plan to stay here in the cove and pass the time by taking a nap with Toothless until I've received your painting, and once I have it, me and Toothless will go for our very first flight, or to say with other words, a 'test drive'.

Sincerely, Hiccup

Right after Rapunzel had finished reading Hiccup's note, she laid it down on the grass before taking the other sheet of paper and unrolling it to take a look, and she became certainly impressed with what she was looking at. The drawing looked like it must have been done by a professional, as there was a lot of incredible effort put into it, and there was so much detail done not only in just the lake itself, but also with all of the rocks and the trees being around it too. Hiccup was absolutely right; the drawing was beautiful enough for it to be hung up somewhere in Rapunzel's room, and she wouldn't have to worry at all about her Mother seeing it, because it was a rare occasion when she entered her room. Rapunzel closed the mailbox and lowered the red flag down before putting both Hiccup's cove drawing and the note in one hand to carry, then brought the other hand to pick up Pascal from off the ground and brought him to her left shoulder.

"Hey, Pascal, take a look at this," Rapunzel said, as she tucked the note underneath her armpit. "Our friend, Hiccup, made a new drawing for us." She added, while unrolling the artwork once again to show to the chameleon.

"Isn't it beautiful," The girl asked, and although Pascal had obviously agreed by nodding with his head, he squeaked in a confused tone, because he didn't know exactly what kind of place that the drawing was showing him.

"It's a picture of where Hiccup goes to hang out with his best friend, and from looking at it, I can guess that it's a place where they always have complete and total privacy from the world, just like us." Rapunzel explained.

Rapunzel couldn't help but feel a little sad after saying those last few words, because even though she was grateful to be allowed to spend her time outside the tower, she still felt a strong desire to see so much more of the world.

"I've read in a book that dragons have the ability to fly, so I wonder if there's been any other lands Hiccup and Toothless have visited. . ." Rapunzel said, but she quickly stopped to think for a moment before speaking up again.

"Wait, Hiccup wrote a while ago that Toothless wasn't able to fly properly because of him, so it'll take a little more time before we might see them possibly come across this tower and find us someday." She added, with disappointment in her voice.

"Anyway, Hiccup suggested in the note that I should send him a drawing of my tower, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, but this time, it's going to be a lot more fun because I'll be painting outside instead." Rapunzel said, now having an excited tone.

Using the staircase like she did many times before, Rapunzel made her way back inside the tower, and up to her room, where she got out her large case of paints, but not before putting the note in a drawer, where she has kept all of Hiccup's previous letters. Rapunzel also found a sheet of paper which was large enough for her to make a painting of the tower, and so with the sheet of paper in one hand, and the case of paints in the other, she decided to be a little more slow in exiting the tower. Even though there wasn't a rush to get the painting done, Rapunzel didn't want Pascal to be hanging onto her for dear life another time, so when the chameleon saw that his friends wasn't going in such a rapid pace, he happily let out a sigh of relief.

Her bare feet walked across the grass until they stopped at a spot near the tunnel entrance to beyond, and Rapunzel got down on the ground, crossed her legs, put her case of paints to her right side, took out a few of them, as well as a paintbrush. Pascal stayed quiet, as he simply let his friend focus on her artwork, since this happened to be her very first time working on a painting while she was outside the tower, so it would be quite disappointing for this special moment of hers to be ruined. The chameleon was almost getting ready to close his eyes and take a nice, long nap when he could see Rapunzel putting her paintbrush, as well as her paints back in the case, and obviously, that meant she was already done working on her painting.

Rapunzel got herself up from off the grass, but not before lending out a hand for Pascal, so he could stand on her left shoulder again, and walked back to the tower, while using one hand to hold her painting, and the other hand to carry her case of paints. Once she was inside her bedroom again, Rapunzel placed her case of paints back in it's usual spot, then laid down her painting on the top of her vanity drawer, and searched around to find a single sheet of paper, and a well sharpened pencil to write with. She sat herself down in front of her vanity mirror, and took about less than five minutes to write everything that she wanted to tell Hiccup, and after she had finished with the letter, Rapunzel took a hold of it and her painting before exiting the tower again. Luckily, the painting had managed to dry while Rapunzel was writing the letter, and the girl decided not to have her painting folded, or even rolled up, as she didn't want it to have any creases, and Rapunzel put it and the letter inside the mailbox before closing it up.

"I really hope that Hiccup likes the painting that I made for him," Rapunzel said to herself, before turning her head to the left to face the chameleon. "Pascal, I know you didn't get a good look at the painting, but do you think that he'll like it?" She asked.

Pascal squeaked instantly in approval, and he should know, considering that he's been by her side every time when she's painted something new on the ceilings of her tower, so he was abolutely sure that her painting on the sheet of paper would be just as beautiful.

Hiccup had been resting peacefully against Toothless' stomach when he heard a familiar sound, which caused him to slowly open his eyes, and turn his head over in the direction of where the mailbox was, and he could see that the red flag had been raised. Carefully, Hiccup had managed to move away from his best friend without waking him up, and he got back to standing on his two feet before walking over to the mailbox, and opening it to see what was inside. He found two sheets of paper, with one that had a lot of writing on it, meaning that it was a note for him, while the other sheet of paper had lots of pretty colors, which meant it was the painting for him, but he decided to read the note first.

Dear Hiccup,

First of all, I'm so glad to know that you and Toothless enjoyed the cookies that I made for you earlier today, and I'm also glad that you're going to be saving the rest of them to have for another day, just like me and Pascal will be doing with your lemon bars. I received your drawing not so long ago, and I have to say that you're such a wonderful artist, because I love that you gave a lot of detail to every little thing, from the lake's water, the leaves and branches of the tress, to the many rock of different shapes. I don't mind that your drawing doesn't have any bright colors, so anyway, I took up the suggestion that you made in your previous letter, and I did a painting of the tower that me and Pascal live in, so I'd appreciate it if you wrote your thoughts about it in your next letter.

I wasn't able to come up with any new activities that both of us could do, but that doesn't mean I want us to stop writing letters, because I've really been enjoying the chance to get to know someone and what has been going on in their life, so I don't want this to be the end. Please, if there's anything on your mind, anything that you want to write to me about, then have all of it down on a letter and send it to me, I'd really appreciate it, so anyway, I hope that your 'test drive' with Toothless is a great success.

Sincerely, Rapunzel

As soon as he was done with reading Rapunzel's note, Hiccup had gotten the feeling of just sitting down somewhere in the clearing and writing whatever he felt like to have written on paper, but sadly, there wasn't anything that he could think of at the moment. Hiccup didn't want to delay his 'test drive' with Toothless until the sky became dark, because obviously, he wouldn't be able to see any of the positions on the cheat sheet that he created to help himself out with steering the fake tail fin he designed for Toothless. Maybe after he got back from the flight, and something new came to him, then Hiccup could just write it down on the back of the note that Rapunzel just sent to him, but just as he turned around and began walking back to Toothless, the boy remembered something.

Where was Hiccup going to leave Rapunzel's note, since he left his fur vest and its' pockets all the way back home, the rest of his sheets of paper were also there too, and he wouldn't be able to find the note so easily if he simply dropped it on the grass beneath him. Hiccup took off one of his fur boots and looked inside to see how much room there would be to fit the note in, and luckily for him, there was plenty, so he took Rapunzel's note and laid it down at the bottom of his boot before slipping his foot slowly back into it. Rapunzel did write in her note that she hoped his 'test drive' with Toothless was a 'great success', so maybe by literally having the note with him during the entire flight, it would be like bringing along a good luck charm, and also feeling that Rapunzel was with him too. The chief's son did the same thing with Rapunzel's painting, but this time, he put it down to the side in his other fur boot, and he didn't have to worry much about getting it ruined, because the paint was completely dry and he'll barely even feel it during the flight.

"Hey, bud, you have to wake up now," Hiccup called out, as he made his way over to Toothless, and he was sure that he heard the dragon make a groaning sound. "I'm sorry that you have to come out of your beauty sleep, but it's time for us to do our flight now." He added.

It wasn't long before the Night Fury was up on both its' hands and legs, and so Hiccup hopped onto his best friend's back, hooked himself to the dragon's saddle, and within a few seconds, the two of them were off into the sky.

A few hours later. . .

Rapunzel had gone to sleep, and luckily, when Mother Gothel came back to the tower, she didn't even bother on looking around the girl's bedroom, and just went to her own bedroom to get some sleep herself. However, if Mother Gothel did go in Rapunzel's bedroom, she would've noticed that her 'flower' had been tossing and turning around in her bed, because she was having a dream that seemed far too real for her. . .

"Hiccup, please wait!" Rapunzel shouted, as she ran across the rocky beach, and she didn't have to worry about hurting her feet, because she was wearing a pair of boots that a Viking was kind enough to give to her.

"Rapunzel, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked worriedly, as he had just hopped onto Toothless' back and was starting to secure himself to the saddle when he suddenly heard the girl call out for him.

"I know that I'll be sounding silly to ask you this, but are you sure that you have to go up there, like what if you don't come back?" Rapunzel questioned, with a truly scared tone in her voice.

"I have to go up there, Rapunzel, and just like my Dad said," Hiccup began, before turning to face his father. "We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard." He added confidently.

"Alright, but Hiccup, please promise me that you'll be careful." Rapunzel asked of him, and right after saying that, she saw the boy grab one of her hands gently, and looked down at her in the eyes.

"Rapunzel, I promise that I'll be careful, and not only will me and Toothless defeat this dragon, but we'll also come back, so I promise that this won't be the last time we'll see each other." Hiccup answered sincerely.

After saying that, Hiccup soon let go of Rapunzel's hand, turned his head and was just about to take off to the sky when his father came forward and grabbed his son's arm.

"Hiccup, before you go, I just want to say that I'm sorry for- for everything, and I'm also proud to call you my son." Stoick said, while having both of his hands on Hiccup's left arm.

"I'm sorry too, Dad, and thanks, you know, for the other thing that you told me." Hiccup replied, before he turned around, and then Toothless thrust his wings and shot off into the sky.

"C'mon, let's head over to where the other Vikings are so that we can watch my son kill this beast." Stoick told Rapunzel, and she quicky nodded before following right behind him.

Rapunzel didn't have to worry about her long hair getting dirty from the ground either, because another Viking was so kind to have it in a braid that wasn't too tight for her. As soon as she, along with Stoick, were standing with the teens who came with Hiccup to the island, they both looked up to see him and Toothless flying towards the monster with tremendous super sonic speed. Toothless shot a white fireball against the monster's head, and it went down with a rumble, as he and Hiccup pulled out of their dive and started to fly over the bay, trying to get some distance away from the monster.

Pascal came out from behind Rapunzel's neck to get a look at what was happening, but he only went back to hiding once again when he saw gigantic and scarred wings begin to extend from the monster's back. The tattered corners of the wings clearly showed that they hadn't been used for quite a long time, and once the monster was standing on its' feet, it angrily let out a roar before flapping its' wings to lift itself into the air. Toothless flew out across the water while dodging the rock columns that came in the dragon's way, but the monster didn't find them to be a problem, as it knocked all of the columns down by smashing into them. Rapunzel moved a little closer to the edge of the water, as she wanted to keep a clear view of her friends and their enemy, but then she brought her head down when she heard the teens yelling out words of encouragement.

Even though Hiccup might not be able to hear her, she decided to join in with them anyway. "Don't worry, Hiccup, I know you can do this, because I believe in you, so don't ever give up!" Rapunzel shouted, cheering him on.

She kept her eyes on the duo's every move as Hiccup and Toothless shot up into the dark clouds like a speeding bullet, and then vanished like smoke, meaning that Rapunzel, and all of the Vikings couldn't see them anymore. Everything instantly went quiet, and as even more anxiety twirled in her chest, the tension in the air suffocated Rapunzel to the point where she felt like screaming just so she could to put an end to the suspenseful silence. The people could hear a high screech before seeing a white blast explode in the sky, and it happened about five more times until the monster had enough by unleashing a long stream of fire that looped through the air like a ribbon.

The fire lit up the whole sky, and soon the dark smoke had mixed in with the grey clouds, and Rapunzel let out a small gasp when she saw Toothless come down from the smoke. Rapunzel let out a small gasp as she could also see that half of the dragon's tail was on fire, which meant that him and Hiccup now had a short amount of time to defeat the monster. Speaking of the monster, it was following too close behind them, but the duo still kept on flying towards the ground, before Toothless spun himself around in midair, and they were now flying backwards, while facing the monster's open mouth.

The Night Fury shot one last white fireball at the heated green gas that had been forming in the monster's throat, and the gas ignited into a fire, just as Hiccup steered them away from the monster's flames, and out of danger's way. The monster seemed to realize how close it was to the ground, and so the monster spread out its' wings and made an attempt to slow down its' descent, but it was to no avail, as the holes in the monster's membranes had become wider. Rapunzel and the Vikings didn't move their eyes away from the monster until it finally collided with the ground headfirst, which created a massive explosion that sent ash and dust, as well as rocks and debris flying in their direction.

Although they used their arms to cover their face and keep anything from reaching their nose and eyes, they were all knocked off of their feet from the blow, and the whole ground shook with such force that it was difficult for them to stand up again. While still having a hand out to shield her face, Rapunzel slowly got herself to her knees and looked up at the sky to catch a glimpse of a dragon, obviously Toothless, falling from the sky and heading into the flames of the explosion. Rapunzel didn't get to see Hiccup, though, and tears soon welled up in her eyes at the thought of him not making it out of the explosion, and just as she was about to shout for him, she felt somebody lifting her body from off the ground. She didn't bother to take a look at who it was, since her vision had became blurry, her whole body suddenly was getting weaker, and she felt a lot more tired than usual, then everything went dark for her as she slowly closed her eyes. . .

Rapunzel propelled herself in an upright position in her bed, startled and panting, while she also felt sweat clinging to her forehead, but she made sure to cover her mouth to stop a scream from escaping and waking up her mother. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, while using a hand to wipe away the sweat from her forehead, and once Rapunzel was feeling just a little more relaxed, she started to think about the events that happened in her dream. There were so many people that she got to see while dreaming, such as what Hiccup must have looked like, which happened to be small and skinny, while his father and the rest of the Vikings were the exact opposite, being big and brawny.

Rapunzel assumed it was only that way because Hiccup was much younger and didn't work out a lot, and what she also found to be sort of strange was the fact that Hiccup's father had an accent in his voice, while Hiccup didn't have one. What had Rapunzel concerned the most from her dream wasn't that Hiccup and Toothless were fighting against what seemed to be a very huge dragon, but it was that it didn't look like Hiccup was going to come out of the battle alive. Was it possible that Rapunzel's dream had actually been a vision of the future, Hiccup's future to be exact, and it showed that his life was going to be cut tragically short?

She wasn't sure if Hiccup had gotten back from his 'test drive' or not, but she felt that it was important to tell him all about her dream in a letter, so she got herself out of bed. Before taking another step further, Rapunzel realized that her whole room was dark, which obviously meant that she needed a light so that she can be able to clearly see what's she writing on the sheet of paper. She thought of going downstairs to the kitchen and get a candle, then light it up with a match, but she still didn't want to risk waking up her mother, and so she quietly sang her healing song to have her hair glow.

Once all of it was glowing right down to the end, Rapunzel searched around for a plain sheet of paper and a pen, before walking over to the vanity mirror, and sitting down. Rapunzel took her time with writing down everything that she wanted to tell Hiccup, and once she was done with the letter, the girl went out of her room and down the stairs being as quietly she could ever be. She looked over to see if her mother was still sleeping, and to her luck, Mother Gothel was in her bed, and so Rapunzel walked down the secret staircase, then across the grass until she was standing in front of the mailbox.

In a matter of about less than ten seconds, Rapunzel folded her letter just one time, opened up the mailbox, put her letter inside, closed it up, and raised the red flag before walking back to her tower and going inside. When Rapunzel was finally back in her bed, she kept her thoughts on what Hiccup might think about her dream when he read her letter, before drifting off to sleep.


	14. The Viking Girl's Suspicions

A few hours ago. . .

It's been at least a few weeks since Hiccup had managed to make himself into a Viking prodigy through his classes of dragon training, and everyone couldn't be more happy and proud of him, all except for one person. Astrid Hofferson knew, without a doubt, that Hiccup didn't start off so well in the beginning, when it was clear that he wasn't taking any of their classes seriously, and almost making a complete mockery out of them. What Astrid thought was also strange is that as soon as every class was done, instead of celebrating his success and new popularity with the other Vikings in their village, Hiccup would take off into the forest without an explanation. During the few times when Astrid did catch him sneaking off, Hiccup was always wearing an odd harness vest rather than his usual fur vest, while also carrying something else under one of his shoulders, and it was made from leather.

It was in the afternoons after dragon training when Hiccup would disappear often, and then it would be just before dinner at the Great Hall when Hiccup would show up again, although nobody else found it to be weird at all. So many questions had been floating around in Astrid's mind for such a long time, with one being what exactly was Hiccup doing, like was it training, and if so, then did he have a secret tutor meet him way deep in the forest? Obviously, Astrid wasn't going to get the answers she wanted for any of her questions unless she followed him, so when the girl spotted Hiccup arriving at his house earlier, she waited patiently until he had left to pursue him. Throughout the entire walk, which lasted at a total of three minutes, Astrid stayed a good distance behind Hiccup, with being far away enough that he would never see her, but she was always able to keep him in her sight.

Astrid had stopped herself from taking another step, and she looked closely to see that Hiccup was now at a wall of grey rocks, and he was also carrying a few sheets of paper in one hand, and a charcoal pen in the other. She wondered why Hiccup had those particular things with him this time, and what he was planning to do with them, like was he going to just write down tips and advice that has helped him out through dragon training? Who exactly was this person that has been giving him all of this information to this day, like was it someone who lived here in Berk, just like Hiccup and Astrid, or did they happen to come from another island far away? Astrid was determined more than ever to find that out once and for all, so when she saw Hiccup go through a crack in the rocky wall, and disappear down from it, she quietly ran over to the fracture of the wall herself.

She went through the crack and got down, before taking a look at the large cove that she was in now, and Astrid had to admit that it was quite pretty, while also being very secluded and alive, with no one else in sight. However, the girl knew that there was no time for her to be admiring the scenery of the cove, even if she had never been to it in the past, and using her eyes, Astrid carefully searched around for Hiccup's exact location. When she managed to see him again, Astrid came down instantly on both of her knees, crawled over to the edge of the stone ledge, and kept watch on Hiccup as he made his way to something she's never seen before. It looked to be in the shape of a house, which was small enough for birds to go inside, and it was connected to a wooden post from the ground below, but there was also a red thing on a side of the house that Astrid couldn't recognize.

Her thoughts on the house and its purpose had become interrupted when she saw Hiccup step back from it, and her eyes widened to see him walking back to the cove's entrance, which happened to be in the girl's direction! Without having a second thought in her head, Astrid got herself out of the cove, and ran as fast as she could through the woods, considering that she didn't want Hiccup to know that she'd been watching him for the past few minutes. Suddenly, Astrid came to a halt and began thinking about what she saw with her eyes, but the more that she thought about it, the less sense it made for her to understand. All that happened was Hiccup walking through the forest, while carrying a few things in his hands, before entering a cove, so that he could look inside a house made for birds.

Not a single part of that had given Astrid any of the answers she wanted so badly, and it would've been a bad move for her to just go back home without getting them first. She didn't come all this way just to turn back now, and that's why Astrid started looking for the cove's entrance, but went down right away when she caught sight of Hiccup. Only a few seconds had passed before Astrid moved her up to find that Hiccup had his back to her, and she let out a sigh of relief, believing that he didn't manage to see her. It seemed like Hiccup was focused on doing something at the moment, so Astrid slowly moved closer to get herself a better look, and saw that he was making a drawing.

He occasionally brought his head up, before sketching a little more on the sheet of paper, while Astrid couldn't help but wonder if the image was of a person or a thing. Before Astrid could get closer to have a chance of seeing what it was exactly, Hiccup got himself up from the grass and headed for the entrance to his secret cove again. She waited at least a minute to go down herself, and went back to the same spot on the stone ledge that she used to watch Hiccup, and not get seen by him as well. Astrid looked closely to see Hiccup open up the birdhouse, and then put both the sheets of paper he had been carrying inside of it, before finally closing it altogether.

He also raised the red thing on the side of the small house, which led Astrid to believe that it must have been important for whatever purpose it even had in particular. All of a sudden, Astrid's eyes widened, and her heart started pounding furiously against her rib cage when she saw Hiccup make his way over to a large, black dragon. It was obvious that the dark creature was sleeping and had been doing so for a while now, especially from the way it didn't move at all as Hiccup got much closer to it. Astrid tried to slow down her breathing while studying the dragon, and sadly, it was a species that she didn't recognize in all those raids when the dragons raided Berk.

She also didn't recall seeing it from the dragon manual either, and Astrid practically had the whole book memorized, so she would've known already what species it was. However, she remembered that Hiccup did constant inquiries for Night Furies around the island, and she had begun to believe that this was what they really looked like. Just as she was about to shout out to Hiccup to run for his life, and expose herself in the process, she realized something, and gave herself a mental facepalm as well. Astrid had regrettably left her axe, the same one that belonged to her mother before it was passed down to her, all the way back at her house, and she needed it now.

The chances of her being able to take on the dragon and come to Hiccup's rescue yet again were very slim, because she would've been risking on losing her own life. Even though Astrid didn't hate the boy, she didn't really dislike him enough to just sit around and watch him get killed, but she needed to have any kind of weapon first. Before she even started thinking of what she could use, Astrid's mind went back to Hiccup and the dragon, when she took notice of something that was truly astonishing. Hiccup got himself down to the grass, crawled over, and brought his back to the Night Fury's stomach, before closing his eyes to probably join the dragon in taking a nap.

Astrid was sure that she actually heard the Night Fury make a content purring sound as soon as Hiccup came in physical contact with it, but the creature did nothing else. There was absolutely no aggression present whatsoever between Hiccup and the dragon, and there wasn't any hint of fear at all, neither from Hiccup nor even the dragon. What's more is that there also seemed to be a saddle on the Night Fury's back, and it was the exact same color as the harness vest Hiccup had been wearing all this time. Did it mean that Hiccup was so crazy and reckless to not only tame a rare dragon, but to have the golden opportunity of riding the beast as many times as he wanted to?

If it was true, then it meant everything that Hiccup had done back in the battle arena was fake, and he basically cheated his way to become the star student of their classes. Obviously, Hiccup would be so much better at taking down the dragons in those classes when he spent each afternoon hanging around with a pet dragon here in this cove. She told Hiccup recently to figure out which side he was on in the war, and Astrid could apparently tell which side he had chosen, but something still didn't make sense. Despite all of the evidence she had of Hiccup's betrayal, Astrid never got to find out the purpose of that birdhouse, and what exactly Hiccup drew on that sheet of paper.

The girl didn't really want to turn back now without knowing all the facts, but she knew in order for her to get them, it meant having to sneak down to the birdhouse herself. Although Hiccup and the dragon weren't so close to it, Astrid hadn't been ready to take that chance and possibly risk getting caught by Hiccup and waking up the Night Fury. So unfortunately, that meant the only other option that Astrid had was to stay right where she was, and wait until Hiccup and his dragon have woken up and left the cove. Astrid didn't believe that Hiccup's nap would last so long, since nighttime wasn't until a few more hours, and he wouldn't be here to just splash around in the lake nearby.

It was possible that if Hiccup was going for a ride with the dragon very soon, then it made sense for both of them to be well rested in order to have a safe, relaxing flight. With that being thought out, Astrid made sure to keep herself wide awake while watching Hiccup and the Night Fury, but she had to admit that it was getting quite boring. There hadn't been an idea that she could think of in her mind to help pass the time, but luckily for Astrid, her boredom was over when she turned to look at the birdhouse. She didn't know whether it was only her imagination playing a trick on her or not, but Astrid could have sworn that she actually saw the small red thing raise up all on its own.

Unless the dragon or even Hiccup managed to possess some kind of power to make something move while being far away from it, there's no way that could have happened! However, it seemed like when the red thing had been raised, a sound was also made loud enough for Hiccup to hear, and he slowly got up to walk over to the birdhouse. Once he came right in front of it, Hiccup opened up what Astrid thought to be the opening to put food inside for birds to eat, but the things he pulled out wasn't food at all. There were just two sheets of paper, and Astrid couldn't tell if they were the same ones she saw earlier, but she was too far away to see whatever was on either of them.

What the girl could definitely see when she looked closely was that Hiccup had been taking a moment of his time to look at one of them, as if it was a handwritten note. That's when Astrid realized it wasn't a birdhouse, but none other than a mailbox, and it must be another reason why Hiccup always kept making secret trips to this cove. Who was it that Hiccup had been writing to and receiving letters from, and did the person give their own tips for Hiccup on how to defeat the dragons back in the kill ring? It didn't seem like Astrid was going to find out the answer for either of those questions any time soon, as she saw Hiccup put the sheets of paper underneath his boots.

Why would Hiccup even do that if no one had ever managed to find the cove and the mailbox before, since nobody would find it fun to take a walk through the forest. Astrid watched Hiccup close the mailbox's door, then make his way back to the dragon and crouch down to his face, as if he wanted to say a few things to the Night Fury. Whatever it was that Hiccup had said, it got the dragon to get up from the grass and stand on all four of his legs, and so Hiccup happily got himself on the dragon's back. With a weird combination of fear and amazement deep in her stomach, Astrid kept her eyes glued to the sight of Hiccup and the dragon until they took off into the sky.

She didn't think that there was a point in going down to the mailbox anymore, mainly because Hiccup already took the things that were in it, and still had them with him. After who knows long of just lying down on the stone ledge, the young girl slowly gathered her thoughts, got herself out of the cove and back into the forest towards Berk. There was a hint of some kind of beautiful magic still lingering throughout the air, as though Hiccup's treacherous friendship with the black dragon was almost...sorcerous. The warm afternoon seemed out of sync with what Astrid was feeling, and the chattering of birds, and rustle of the wind in the boughs fell dead upon the Viking girl's ears.

Even when Astrid reached the outskirts of the village, her emotions were changing from confusion, for a start...but then, anger, at Hiccup's betrayal of his fellow Vikings. They changed again from fear, that he'd bring death and destruction down upon Berk through his rash actions, to jealousy that he'd done something that she hadn't before. Astrid undoubtedly knew that she needed time to think, and it was going to be nighttime pretty soon, but she saw no point in going back to the cove and waiting for Hiccup to return. For all she cared, Hiccup and that dragon would probably spend about a few hours staying high in the clouds together before heading back down to their secret clearing.

She had gone straight to her house and once the girl was inside, Astrid closed the front door, then went right up to her bedroom and sat down at the end of her bed. Hardly the kind of person to let such a matter be forgotten, Astrid spent her time on reaching a conclusion of what to do, and think over the possible ramifications for Hiccup. His sudden and newfound friendship with none other than one of the village's arch enemies would barely come off as lightly if the other villagers were to ever find out about it. On the contrary, Hiccup would most likely become even more of a social outcast than he was before, but then it occurred to Astrid; he really didn't have that much to lose.

It wasn't like Hiccup had been hanging out with anyone else from this village, especially not with the other teens, since they always used to bully him until dragon training. Astrid never did join in with them mainly because she didn't care enough to pay Hiccup any attention whatsoever, which is why she didn't even decidedly dislike the boy. Hiccup had always been the village nuisance, hence the nickname 'Hiccup the Useless', forever getting into trouble and messing things up, and at the worst of times too. Shunned by most people and ignored by the rest of them, it seemed that even his own father saw him as a failure, so Berk seemed to hold no real future for Hiccup at all.

He certainly wasn't going to inherit the title of chieftain from his father, and the villagers would never accept it happening once they knew about Hiccup's secret friendship. Snotlout Jorgenson would apparently be next in line for the position, which was just as scary as a thought, given that he was everything Hiccup was not – including stupid. Hiccup knew all of this, and yet, he still decided that he would just ignore the consequences of anything he might do, even if what happened to him wasn't anything new. After all, even if the reason behind Hiccup's behaviour was discovered and caught, what could the villagers do to him that they had not already done before in the past?

Exile could be no worse than what the boy must be going through presently, and that was keeping his friendship with a rare dragon a secret from the villagers of Berk. Astrid had a mind which was sometimes slightly rash, but very logical, so it meant that she was very good at calculating the risks and potential rewards of any situation. However, she couldn't begin to understand the emotional consequences that continual and obsessive thought about such a circumstance would inevitably bring for her. Given the situation that Astrid was now confronted with, this made the important decision on what course of action for her to take even much more difficult right now.

Stoick the Vast recently returned from an unsuccessful attempt to locate the Dragons' Nest, but if she told the chief about his son's secret, he would just laugh at her. Maybe Astrid could tell Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins about Hiccup's betrayal to Berk, but she was sure that a similar response would only be handed to her as well. No one in the village would ever believe that Hiccup could actually have the guts to go anywhere near a dangerous dragon, and manage to become best friends with it. The best course of action for Astrid, or the only course of action in fact, seemed to be to confront Hiccup, preferably somewhere private and nowhere near his dragon.

Astrid wasn't sure why she didn't want any of the adult Vikings to know about Hiccup's not-so-little secret; it's wasn't like she cared even a tiny bit about the cheater. Hiccup was a disaster in the first few lessons, and then the boy became the best student in dragon training, and received a lot more popularity because of his success. When dinner time came, villagers flocked over to Hiccup's table for hints and tips on fighting dragons, or simply to hear about his stories and experiences with the beasts. Despite the chief's son being hardly talkative on the subject, not even one person had been remotely put off, and every little word that he spoke had been taken seriously.

Hopefully, all of that would change by tomorrow, with the final test that would decide who gets the right to kill their first dragon, which would be a Monstrous Nightmare. Astrid was certainly determined to win that test, and after it was over, she would make sure to have Hiccup alone so that he could tell her everything she wanted to know. She smiled to herself at the thought of finally getting answers from Hiccup, but now, it was time for Astrid to get some needed sleep in order to be well rested for the test. With that in mind, Astrid got herself into bed, but not before looking around to find where her axe was, because she wanted to have it with her when she confronted Hiccup.


	15. The Viking Boy's Wishes

Even though the sun had come down from the sky a while ago, which happened to be only a few hours, Hiccup and Toothless were able to find the cove's location from how the moon was reflecting off the water of the lake, and so they landed at a spot nearby. Despite the two of them crashing into a couple of rock pillars at the start, then later plummeting from the clouds with Hiccup not being properly strapped to Toothless' harness, the test flight that they took around the island of Berk was a huge success in the end. Hiccup didn't have his cheat sheet with him anymore, mainly because he realized that it's easier for him to rely on his own instincts when flying, since he managed to navigate him and Toothless through an intricate maze of rock formations without the cheat sheet. When the flight was done, they headed over to a rocky beach, where they had some lunch with Toothless catching the fish, and Hiccup starting the fire, which was obviously used in order to have the fish cooked, so they wouldn't have a problem with eating it.

Just after Hiccup turned down a fish that Toothless regurgitated for the boy to have, a group of about four Terrible Terrors had flown to the beach, since they were hungry as well, but Toothless refused to share the fish, since he didn't expect on having company. One of the Terrors picked a fight with Toothless over a fish, and of course, the Night Fury won and made a strange laugh, but the Terror wasn't finished yet, and right when the little dragon prepared to breathe fire, Toothless shot a blast of flames in the Terror's mouth. The Terror collapsed against the ground, then wobbled with smoke coming out of its nostrils, and since Hiccup felt a little sorry for the dragon, he picked up one of the fish and tossed it to the Terror, who snatched up the fish and gobbed it down whole in three seconds. After that, the Terror looked at Hiccup with caution for a moment before slowly approaching him, lifting the boy's arm with its snout, then curled up next to Hiccup, while closing its eyes, as if the dragon was nothing more than a small and scaly cat with a pair of wings.

Hiccup had never seen a dragon act so peaceful, and it was right then and there, he knew that was how dragons normally behaved, and they weren't the dangerous creatures Hiccup had been taught to believe, so everything the Vikings knew about dragons was wrong. This was something that Hiccup definitely wanted to write in a new letter for Rapunzel, but he didn't think it would be right to send a sheet of paper that's been underneath his foot for hours, so he'd have to get a brand new sheet back in his house at the village. Although Hiccup didn't need to worry about getting caught, since everybody had to be asleep by now, he didn't think that Rapunzel would actually expect a letter to come in the middle of the night, so Hiccup decided that he would write one until after he's gotten a good night's sleep. It seemed like Toothless had the same thought in mind, as he lay down on the ground and shut his eyes, but not before Hiccup unstrapped himself from the dragon's saddle and got off his back, then he walked over to the mailbox to see if Rapunzel sent a letter to him.

Hiccup opened up the mailbox and put one of his hands inside to feel a sheet of paper, which instantly caused a smile to appear on his face, so he pulled out the sheet of paper and closed the mailbox, but just as Hiccup was about to read it, he remembered something. It was dark at this time, so Hiccup couldn't be able to see what Rapunzel had written, and he almost felt like waking up Toothless so he could start a fire, which would give Hiccup a lot more light, but he really didn't want to risk accidentally burning Rapunzel's letter. With his best friend already fast asleep, Hiccup decided that it was best for him to return to Berk, and during his walk back, he hoped that Astrid wasn't actually staying out late to catch him, but luckily, when he arrived, it didn't look like there was anybody outside. If there's one thing Hiccup needed right now, it was a hot bath, due to a certain Night Fury shooting a fireball in front of them after their test flight, which is why Hiccup looked and smelled like a dirty cinder, was covered in soot, and his hair being stuck in the windblown look.

He headed back to his house, and once Hiccup was inside, he went upstairs to put Rapunzel's letter in his room first before getting cleaned up, so while Hiccup did that, he couldn't help but think about what he's going to do next, since tomorrow had an important event. It was the exam that will determine who gets the honor of killing their first dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, with the entire village as an audience, and if it had been many weeks ago, then Hiccup would've been excited at having this opportunity, but after befriending Toothless... The boy wasn't so sure, and now the thought of even so much as hurting a dragon made Hiccup's stomach turn, but there had to be a way that he could show all the Vikings that they were fighting a war with a race that didn't want to bring any harm in the first place. After he got himself cleansed of the dirt and filth, Hiccup changed into some fresh clothes, then came back up the stairs to his room, and although he wanted to get some much needed sleep, Hiccup was still quite anxious to read what Rapunzel had wrote for him. Hiccup lit up two candles and carefully set one on each side of the desk before sitting down to unfold Rapunzel's letter before reading it.

Dear Hiccup,

I had the most awful nightmare, and what was so strange about it is that it felt so real, but this nightmare didn't just have me and Pascal, but it also had you, Toothless, your father, and probably everyone else in your village, and I'll try my best to describe what happened. Just when you and Toothless were about to take off into the sky and fight a very large dragon, I asked if you really had to go up there, but you told me that you had to because you were a Viking, and it was a occupational hazard, and you promised that you would come back. I didn't argue with that and I let you go, before your father led me over to where the other villagers were standing, so I guessed that all we could do was watch as you and Toothless fought the dragon, and we saw Toothless shoot a fireball at the dragon before you flew away.

That's when a pair of wings extended from the dragon's back, and the dragon let out a roar before flapping its wings to rise into the air. You and Toothless avoided a bunch of rock columns while flying across the water, while the dragon just smashed them all behind you. I moved a little closer to the water so that I could get a better look at what was happening, but I didn't need to worry about my feet getting hurt on the rocky ground, because I think someone in Berk gave me a pair of boots to wear, and I didn't have to worry about my hair either.

Someone was kind enough to braid my hair so it wouldn't get dirty from the ground, and I don't think that the braid was too tight. Anyway, I heard a few other teenagers who were shouting out words of encouragement nearby, and I decided to join in with them. I kept my eyes on you and Toothless until you flew up into the clouds, and I couldn't see you anymore, and everything went quiet for a while, until we heard a high screech and saw a white blast, which happened a few more times before the dragon released a long stream of fire.

The fire lit up the sky, and I gasped as I saw that half of Toothless' tail was on fire, which meant you didn't have that much time left. You and Toothless were flying towards the ground, with the dragon following close behind you, and Toothless quickly spun himself around so that you were now flying backwards, and facing the dragon's mouth, which had opened to show some kind of green gas forming inside. I saw Toothless shoot a white fireball at the green gas, which caused a fire to start in the dragon's mouth.

You managed to steer Toothless away from the monster's flames, and presumably out of any danger too. The dragon had just realized how close it was approaching the ground, so the dragon spread out it wings to try and slow down, but it didn't work, because a number of holes began to grow bigger in the dragon's wings, and none of us moved at all when the dragon crashed into the ground. A huge explosion was created right away, and it sent all sorts of ash, dust, and rocks to come in our direction.

Even though we brought up our arms to keep any of it from reaching our face, we were literally knocked off our feet. Once I got myself on my knees, I looked up to see a glimpse of just Toothless, but I couldn't see where you were. Right when I was going to shout out your name, I felt somebody pick me up from the ground, and since my vision was getting blurry, I didn't get a chance to see who it was, then everything went dark, and that's when I woke up, and I covered my mouth so my mother couldn't hear me scream.

If there had to be one good thing about my nightmare, it's that I finally got to see what you looked like in person. Your hair was wet when I saw it, but I'm guessing the color's light brown, and you also had green eyes like me. The clothes you had on were a light green, long sleeve shirt, along with green pants, and brown fur boots.

A leather vest was over your green shirt, and I think it was to help you stay on Toothless when he's flying. Speaking of Toothless, he was a black dragon with green eyes, and he was much bigger than the two of us. After you've read this letter, Hiccup, please write back to me as soon as you can, because even though it sounds crazy, I actually think that my nightmare showed what your future would look like, and obviously, it doesn't look good, but I hope that your 'test drive' went great.

Sincerely, Rapunzel

When Hiccup put the letter down on his desk, a grin eventually came on his face from thinking if Rapunzel's nightmare would actually happen, then it meant that he and Rapunzel would get to meet each other for the first time, but how was it even possible? Rapunzel told Hiccup in a recent letter that she lived in a tower, and she also sent him a painting of what it looked like. However, Hiccup remembered that he didn't see the painting, mainly because he put it in his boot after receiving it. He took off both of his boots and checked inside each of them to take out Rapunzel's note and the painting she sent.

After he put his feet back into his boots, Hiccup unfolded the painting and had it laid out in front of him on the desk. The thing that Hiccup brought his attention to first was the tower and its entrance was a window with flowers all around it, while below, he could see that it was made of bricks and parts of the tower were covered with a mix of green plants such as ivy and moss. It seemed like the tower had been situated in a place that wasn't just a box canyon, but it was also a valley. Right behind the tower, there was a thin and tumbling waterfall, almost like the one that was back in the cove.

The boy became positive that the tower Rapunzel lived in was located on another island far away from Berk. Suddenly, a question had come to Hiccup's mind, and it wasn't a question that he wanted to ignore so easily. If the window was the only entrance, then how did Rapunzel and her mother get themselves in and out of the tower? Hiccup decided he would find out the answer to that question by asking Rapunzel when he wrote his next letter, and he would make sure to mention that her painting looked beautiful, and it truly was from having a lot of color to make the painting stand out.

There shouldn't be a problem with having the painting up on a wall, since his father usually didn't go into Hiccup's room. Speaking of his father, Hiccup knew that he couldn't keep his discoveries about dragons and Toothless a secret forever. It literally terrified Hiccup to just imagine the potential dialogue between him and his father once he knew everything. What was even more scary for Hiccup to think of is what would happen to Toothless if the chief found out about him.

The Night Fury may be known as the rarest and most intelligent dragon, but Hiccup recalled from the dragon manual that his best friend was referred to as the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death itself', so he was always considered to be extremely dangerous. Stoick would either have Toothless killed or he'd probably cut off the dragon's head to have mounted above the door of their house. Hiccup preferred not to think about whatever it was that his father would do with Toothless because it wouldn't be pretty either way. Being engaged in a friendship with one of Berk's enemies meant Hiccup was committing treason to the entire village and its chief too.

Although he didn't believe that Stoick would actually get his only son executed, Hiccup thought his father wouldn't be opposed to having him exiled. If that did happen, the only thing Hiccup hoped for was to have Toothless with him, because flying a dragon was better for travel than using a ship. Hiccup probably won't be allowed to pack up some things before leaving Berk, like a few tools in case something went wrong with Toothless' tail fin, or food so he wouldn't starve to death and he'll just be sent off with nothing more but the clothes on his back. What if Stoick had given Hiccup a choice between being labelled as an outcast or killing Toothless himself to rejoin the Vikings?

Since he couldn't bring himself to kill Toothless when he had the chance, Hiccup would obviously choose the life of an outcast. There was so much that Hiccup wanted to write about to Rapunzel and he felt like he could go on forever with what he had in mind. How he wished that no more dragons had to be killed, and the war between them and the Vikings could finally come to an end. How he wished that his father and the village could see they were wrong about dragons and accept his friendship with Toothless. How he wished that Astrid and the other teens could respect him for who he was, and not for how he tamed the dragons in the arena.

Speaking of Astrid, it would be just her and Hiccup in tomorrow's exam, and he was hoping that the winner for it should be Astrid. Even though it meant that she would get the honor of killing a dragon, Hiccup thought it was much better than killing one himself. Still, it actually pained Hiccup deep inside of him to even imagine the Monstrous Nightmare being brought to its death by Astrid's axe. What option did Hiccup have in order to prevent the Nightmare's demise from happening, and that's when an idea came to him.

Perhaps on the night before the final exam with the Nightmare, Hiccup could sneak down to the Kill Ring and free not only the Nightmare from its cage, but every other dragon as well, so that way, they'd never have to suffer from another class of dragon training. There was sure to be absolute chaos if the cages were found empty, and his father would want to know exactly how the dragons escaped. Stoick probably wouldn't suspect his son of letting the dragons loose, since he had been doing so great in the arena for the past few weeks. The chief of Berk will likely end up putting the blame on Mogadon, chief of the Meathead tribe, who were close neighbors to the Hairy Hooligans.

Hiccup would feel incredibly full of guilt if that happened, because the last thing he wanted was to start a whole new war between only humans. Thinking about all of this caused Hiccup to bring his face down on the desk in despair, since he believed that there was no right choice to make. In the meantime, Hiccup decided that the best thing he could do now was get some sleep, so that he'll be well rested for tomorrow's big event. Hiccup walked over to his bed, got under the blanket, and closed his eyes, but not before blowing out the candles he used to see Rapunzel's letter.

Unfortunately, Hiccup wasn't able to fall asleep so easily, due to the fact that there was a lot on his mind, and he let out a groan in frustration. Perhaps he could pass the time by going down to the blacksmith's shop and draw some modifications for Toothless' saddle until he felt sleepy. With that in mind, Hiccup got out of his bed, went down the staircase, and walked out of his house, and he made sure to close the front door. Hiccup felt relieved that there wasn't anybody outside and he didn't feel like answering any more questions about his success in the Kill Ring.

When he reached the forge, Hiccup went inside to pull open a ragged and poorly stitched curtain to enter a small room with a desk and chair. This was the same room that Hiccup came to whenever he wanted to invent a new device or at least make a sketch of what it would like. Hiccup lit a candle first before sitting down on the chair, then he picked up the charcoal pencil and tried to think of something new to draw.

However, all that he ended up doing was resting his head on top of the desk while flicking the pencil back and forth. Once again, Hiccup was lost in thought, and he also felt burdened with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Suddenly, Hiccup heard a noise, and he turned his head to see the sight of Stoick, which caused him to jump up in surprise.

"Dad! You're back!" Hiccup said, while he hastily tried to cover up his drawings of Toothless, which were strewn all over his desk.

"Gobber's not here, so..." Hiccup added, as he struck an awkwardly casual pose and kept the drawings out of his father's view.

"I know," Stoick replied, as he managed to get through the door, and knocked several tools and weapons over. "I came looking for you."

"You did?" Hiccup asked, while he closed his sketchbook, and at the same time, his heart started to pound harder in his chest.

"You've been keeping secrets." Stoick answered with his voice sounding both firm and stern when he said those words.

"I-I-I, uh, I have?" Hiccup stuttered, as his legs became weak, and he prayed to the gods that his father didn't know about Toothless.

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" Stoick inquired in a voice that was low and serious.

"I don't know what you're..." Hiccup began, trying to act like he had no idea what his father was talking about.

"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it." Stoick responded, now sounding more angry.

"Oh?" Hiccup said, while doing his absolute best to appear just curious and not terrified out of his wits at all.

"So. . .let's talk. . .about that dragon." Stoick replied, and that's when Hiccup felt like blood was draining from his face.

"Oh, gods." Hiccup said, before he went on to blabber. "Dad, I'm so sorry, I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to-."

All of a sudden, Hiccup was cut off by Stoick bursting out into big, booming laughter, the kind he usually made after drinking. Hiccup felt baffled as he stared at his father before giving an awkward laugh, which was also high-pitched.

"So. . .you're not...upset?" Hiccup asked nervously, while he tentatively thought if his father had gone mad.

"What?! I was hoping for this!" Stoick replied excitedly, then he continued to laugh and slap his belly as well.

"Uh...you were?" Hiccup said, as he started to believe that his father was talking about something different.

There's no way that the chief of Berk would actually be this excited over his son befriending a Night Fury.

"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait until you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time, and mount your first Gronckle head on a spear." Stoick responded happily.

Hiccup noticed his father's eyes slightly glaze over as if he was remembering when he did those things in the past.

"What a feeling! You really had me going there, son." Stoick continued, as he laughed loudly and smacked Hiccup on the shoulder so hard that he fell butt first into a barrel behind him, and got himself stuck.

"All those years of the worst Viking that Berk has ever seen!" Stoick chattered, as Hiccup struggled to get out of the barrel.

Once he got out, the elated expression on his face sank from realizing that his father thought he was a now a dragon killing legend. For the first time in Hiccup's life, his father was proud of him, but if Stoick ever found out the truth, it would be a very rude awakening.

"Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you," Stoick said, as Hiccup grimaced at the irony of it all.

". . .and all the while, you were holding out on me! Oh, Thor almighty!" Stoick added in great delight.

The chief grabbed a stool nearby and sat down with his massive frame almost practically filling the tiny room.

"Ahhhhh. . .with you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about." Stoick said, relieved.

He smiled and stared at his son expectantly, while Hiccup gave a look of sadness and guilt before averting his eyes nervously. Stoick adjusted his seat, then awkwardly cleared his throat, and there was a long uncomfortable silence until he spoke up again.

"Oh, I. . . I brought you something." Stoick announced, as he reached behind him and presented a horned helmet to Hiccup.

"To keep you safe in the ring." Stoick continued, and he let his son gently take the helmet by the horns and look it over.

Although he was at a loss for words, Hiccup felt strangely proud of himself, like he finally earned the right to wear a true Viking helmet.

"Wow, thanks." Hiccup said sincerely, as he ran a hand over the top of the helmet so he could feel the cold steel of it.

"Your mother would've wanted you to have it." Stoick replied, while staring fondly at the helmet. "It's half of her breast plate."

After he heard that, Hiccup hurriedly took his hand off the helmet, and he grimaced when a weird image went through his mind.

Matching set," Stoick said, as he tapped his own helmet. "Keeps her close, you know? Wear it proudly, you deserve it, you've held up your end of the deal." He added, as he beamed with total pride at his son.

The last comment from Stoick caused all of Hiccup's guilt festering inside of him to rise to the surface, and his mind raced for an excuse. Even though he was truly touched by the helmet, Hiccup could already feel the awkwardness descending on them once again.

Hiccup carefully set the helmet on his desk, then he stretched out his arms and faked a yawn to make his father believe he was tired.

"I should really get to bed." Hiccup suggested, as he believed that was the best excuse to get him out of this discomforting situation.

"Yes! Okay, good talk, see you back at the house." Stoic responded, while getting up to leave. "We should do this again sometime."

"Thanks for stopping by, and for the. . . breast hat." Hiccup glanced down at the helmet, unsure if that's what it should be called now.

"I hope you like the hat." Stoick said. "Well. .uh. .good night." He added, before squeezing through the door and closing it behind him.

Hiccup was now left alone with his thoughts, and he felt even more burdened then ever, but he did receive good news and bad news. The good news was that his father came back from his expedition with all limbs intact and he had no knowledge of Toothless whatsoever. The bad news was that his father would be there to watch him hopefully win tomorrow's exam and earn the right to kill his first dragon. Before leaving the forge, Hiccup quickly gathered up all the notes and sketches on his desk and he made sure to have them in his sketchbook. It didn't seem right for Hiccup to leave his artwork in the room any longer, especially when his father almost caught sight of it.

After he was finished, Hiccup blew out the candle, and then he walked outside to his house with the sketchbook under his arm. When Hiccup came inside, he felt a little relieved to not see his father, who must have went back to the Great Hall instead. Despite the fact there wasn't a candle lit up in his room, Hiccup was able to see just fine, so he knew where his bed would be. Hiccup got himself under the blanket, closed both of his eyes, but not before placing his sketchbook underneath the bed. Luckily for Hiccup, he managed to drift off into a deep sleep, along with the hope that he'll be dreaming peacefully until morning.


	16. The Life Changing Flight

A new morning dawned in the village of Berk, and it was a day of excitement for its chief, for today, he would get to see Hiccup doing so well in dragon training for the very first time, and Stoick never thought that his son would actually be the star pupil of the classes. He was hoping with his observations of Hiccup in the arena, Stoick could find some technique to help him finally overcome the dragons. Stoick knew that he was wrong to judge his son based on what he saw, and his observations of Hiccup should be able to help the village.

The chief was able to awake in his own bed in his house for the first time in over a week, and it was good to have this luxury in his life. Stoick got up, removed his nightclothes, and washed himself with a cloth, soap, and water, and it felt so much better getting to freshen up. After that, Stoick changed into his usual outfit with his Viking helmet and fur cape, combed his hair and beard, and then went downstairs.

"Hiccup! Time to get up!" Stoick called out to his son, and seconds later, he could hear the sound of rustling from Hiccup's bedroom upstairs.

Normally, it was Stoick who left Hiccup to make the bread, but he figured for today, Stoick could give Hiccup a feast to celebrate his success. Stoick checked to see what was in the pantry, and he saw that there were some dried lamb, herbs, root vegetables, barley, and oats. He decided to make Hiccup porridge, and there's nothing like having a good bowl of porridge first thing in the morning to get you going. Stoick put some wood into the fire pit, then he took a pot from the kitchen and rinsed it so the pot was clean and filled it with fresh water. He thought Hiccup would enjoy some tea, so he filled a kettle with water and carefully set it over the fire while waiting for the pot's water to boil.

"Hiccup! Time to get up!" Stoick shouted in a somewhat cheerful tone, but he would have to sound much more persuasive for the third time.

The chief opened the front door and looked down to see that the dairy man came by and provided twelve eggs in a basket, so he brought them in. Stoick placed all of the eggs into the pot and after, he carried the pot over the fire so he could make hard boiled eggs for both him and Hiccup. He saw the water in the pot was now boiling, so he threw the oats into the water, and Stoick went to the bottom of the stairs to call for his son again.

"Hiccup! Get up. . .now!" Stoick shouted, and he usually dragged said son out of bed by the foot downstairs, but Stoick decided not to do that.

Stoick heard a muffled response come from upstairs, ""Mmmpph. Coming, Dad." The chief only shook his head in disbelief. Teenagers. . .

"Do we still have any bread left?" Stoick asked, while hoping that Hiccup was awake enough to answer the question that he just said.

"I'll be right down, Dad. We should have some in the cupboard." Hiccup replied, and it didn't take so long for Stoick to find the bread.

Stoick took out a few biscuits filled with pieces of a green plant, and he thought it was parsley, but he would have to ask Hiccup to be sure. He went to a clay jar on the kitchen counter and then Stoick took a whiff to see if the goat butter inside was rancid, but fortunately, it wasn't. The chief made sure to have the table set before taking the porridge, eggs, and tea water off of the fire and placed them all on the table, so now, Stoick and Hiccup would have a feast of bread and goat butter, dandelion tea, porridge, and hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Stoick heard his son finally coming down the stairs, and he looked at Hiccup with a new face that was filled with respect and warm approval. Hiccup was a little aback from all the food on the dinner table, but he knew right off the bat it was to celebrate his success in dragon training.

"Morning, son, how'd you sleep?" Stoick asked, as he genuinely wanted to have a good conversation with Hiccup before his exam later today.

"Pretty good, actually, and sorry for not coming down right away. . ." Hiccup stopped from saying more when Stoick held up both of his hands.

"No need to apologize, and I want to wish you good luck today and I also want you to be careful. Not just now, but always." Stoick replied.

"Gee, thanks, Dad." Hiccup said, while giving a small and somewhat wry smile, and his eyes were still avoiding his father's direct gaze.

"Now eat hearty, son, you've got a big day today," Stoick responded. "Oh, Hiccup, what's in this?" He asked, as he held up the bread.

"It's parsley that I picked up from some vendors at the docks." Hiccup answered, before he started to dig into his food. "Do you like it?"

Stoick took a bite of the bread. "Not bad. . .tends to give it a nice texture and green flavor." He said, as he continued to eat his breakfast.

When he was done, Stoick got up from the table. "Take care of the dishes when you're finished, I'll see you later, and son, good luck."

"Thanks, Dad." Hiccup replied, as he watched his father walk out of their house, closing the door behind him, before eating the rest of his meal.

Although he felt happy that he and Stoick got to bond during breakfast, Hiccup was sure it would be the last time for them to do that. Hiccup was glad that his father had left him alone in the house, because he could take some time to think about what he dreamed of last night. Even though he didn't have a bad dream, Hiccup just couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare Rapunzel described in her most recent letter. If her nightmare had included him, Toothless, Stoick, as well as the rest of the teens, then it must have been more like a vision of the future.

As he brought all the dishes to the sink, Hiccup decided to ask Rapunzel in his next letter if that was her first vision or if she had any others in the past. Hiccup wondered if whether he should write a letter for Rapunzel once he was done with the dishes, or wait until after his exam in the arena. The boy figured he would have more than enough time in spite of whoever won today's exam, so Hiccup chose to hold back on writing a letter.

The exam to determine who would kill the Monstrous Nightmare was in the afternoon, and the entire village had come to watch, and it was just Hiccup and Astrid facing against the Gronckle, who hovered above the Kill Ring, hunting for victims as the teens scrambled to hide behind wooden barriers. Hiccup decided to play it safe and make it look like he was doing something, but he was really moving to a different barrier from time to time. He saw Astrid roll behind the same barrier that he was currently behind, and he was about to go to another when Astrid pulled his shield down.

"Stay out of my way," Astrid demanded menacingly. "I'm winning this thing, and after I do, we're going to have a little talk." She added.

After saying all of that, Astrid rolled over to a barrier that got herself close to the Gronckle, and she didn't bother to look back at Hiccup.

"Okay, sure, I can't wait." Hiccup replied, as he stood up to look around at the crowd of onlookers and he caught sight of his father.

As the chief locked eyes with his son, Stoick gave Hiccup a thumbs up and also a nod of encouragement while beaming with pride. Hiccup adjusted his new helmet and forced a half-hearted smile, and unbeknownst to the boy, the Gronckle spotted him and made a bee-line towards Hiccup. Astrid rolled behind two more barriers and took some time to catch her breath while she hid from the Gronckle and made a scowl on her face.

"This time," Astrid said to herself, while becoming even more focused and determined to win the exam. "This time, for sure!"

With a fierce battle-cry, Astrid leapt over the barrier with her axe cocked to throw, but she stopped when she saw the Gronckle. The dragon was out cold on its right side twitching with its tongue hanging out, and of course, Hiccup was standing right next to it. What Astrid didn't know was when the Gronckle saw Hiccup, it had collapsed in front of him, hoping to get scratched behind the ears. Astrid's mouth hung open as she stared at the scene in utter shock, while Hiccup just shrugged, feeling unhappy with the situation as she was.

"No! No, son of a half-troll, rat eating, munge bucket!" Astrid shouted, as she stamped her foot on the ground and swung her axe in frustration.

A loud clack rang out, and from the crowd above, Gothi, the village elder, stepped forward, tapping her staff, and everyone lit up excitedly.

"Wait! Wait!" Stoick called out from his spot at the stands while raising his left hand, and as the chief did that, Hiccup attempted to leave.

"So, later." Hiccup mumbled, trying to casually slip away, but Gobber snagged the boy's vest with his hook appendage and pulled him back.

"Not so fast." Gobber said, as Hiccup struggled against his grasp, and was placed on the same spot before he tried and failed to leave the arena.

"I'm kinda late for. . ." Hiccup didn't get to finish that sentence when Astrid planted the top of her axe right up to his neck, and just under his chin.

"What? Late for what, exactly?" Astrid yelled out with a psychotic anger in her eyes and an almost manic look on her entire face.

"Okay, quiet down! The elder has decided!" Stoick's deep voice boomed while he held up his hands to silence the jabbering crowd.

Gobber stood between the two teenagers, and Hiccup was relieved he did that so Astrid wouldn't have a chance to tear him apart.

With his artificial left hand, Gobber pointed to Astrid as the crowd waited in silent anticipation, and Gothi frowned and shook her head. Astrid's heart dropped to her knees, while a slightly amused 'Ooooh' sound came from the crowd, and Gobber used his real hand to point to Hiccup. Gothi nodded an affirmative 'yes', and the crowd erupted in cheers, and it was these cheers that changed Astrid's hurt into anger very quickly. Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and dared to glance at Astrid, who turned to give Hiccup a seething, deadly glare, one that he wouldn't soon forget.

"Oh, you've done it!" Gobber yelled excitedly. "You've done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!" He added, as the rest of the teens entered the ring.

"Ha, ha! That's my boy!" Stoick roared proudly, as Hiccup was swarmed by Snotlout and the twins before Fishlegs hoisted him up onto his shoulder.

Hiccup's fellow teens kept cheering as he feigned the lamest display of enthusiasm in existence. "Heh, heh. Oh yeah! Yes! I can't wait. I am so..."

"Leaving." Hiccup said to himself, as he ran all the way back home, after he was finally free of the crowd, and he started packing things in a basket.

He took only the essentials: a full water skin, a few changes of clothes, some provisions, a short sword to defend himself, some tools for repairs on Toothless' saddle, a cloak for cold weather, a blanket, and his notes, and Hiccup wasn't too worried about food, because Toothless could hunt for both of them. Hiccup took off his fur vest and stuffed it into the large basket, and right after he put on his flight vest, Hiccup remembered something very important. The boy had postponed writing a letter to Rapunzel until after the exam, so he figured now was the only time for him to write one before he left Berk. He quickly went upstairs to his room, found a charcoal pencil and also a couple of sheets of parchment paper before taking a seat at his working table.

As Hiccup began writing, he wanted to put as much information into the letter as possible, from the events of today's exam to his plans to leave the island. Suddenly, an idea popped into Hiccup's head, since he was leaving Berk for good, he and Toothless could find Rapunzel so they'd get to spend time together. They wouldn't have to write any more letters to each other, at least not for a while, and Hiccup would also get to meet Rapunzel's mother for the first time. She probably won't be so pleased to meet a dragon, but Hiccup could do his best to convince the woman that Toothless wasn't such a dangerous creature.

All of a sudden, Hiccup realized it wouldn't have been right to just take off from Berk without leaving a note for his father explaining his reasons for doing so. He took out a sheet of parchment and wrote of his inability to embrace the Viking lifestyle and the overall benefit for both Vikings and dragons of his leaving. The boy finished the letter by having it signed with Hiccup, no Haddock, no III, just Hiccup, and had it addressed to "The Chief" — not to "dad" or "father". It would explain everything to his father without revealing too much, and Hiccup placed it on the same table where they had breakfast only a few hours ago.

With this letter, Hiccup didn't have it folded like he usually did with his letters to Rapunzel, and he went upstairs, where his new letter for the girl remained. Hiccup folded each sheet of parchment paper that he used for the letter and made sure they were in order before placing all of them under his right armpit. After he did that, Hiccup slung the heavy basket over his left shoulder, left through the back door, and looked back to see if anybody was following him. Hiccup decided on taking one of his alternate routes to get to the cove and he double backed several times just to be safe until he finally made it there.

Luckily, Hiccup didn't lose any sheets of his letter for Rapunzel as he climbed down the stone ledges and then he took a glance to search for Toothless. The Night Fury wasn't anywhere to be seen, but he was probably curled up somewhere nearby taking a nap, so Hiccup didn't feel a need to worry at all. He made his way for the mailbox, because Hiccup thought it was a good idea to send his new letter first before going around the cove to find Toothless. Fortunately, the weather didn't feel so hot for Hiccup during his walk to the cove, and he always took care of his hygiene, so the letter wouldn't smell bad.

Hiccup took all the sheets of parchment paper out from his armpit, but not before opening up the mailbox, which is what he did as soon as he reached it. Next, Hiccup put the sheets inside the mailbox, closed it up and raised the red flag while using one hand, since his other was holding the basket's handle.

"Okay, bud, time to wake up!" Hiccup called out, as he walked away from the mailbox. "Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation. . .forever."

"Ah, man. . ." Hiccup sighed heavily as he set down his basket near a large boulder and opened it up to double-check that he had everything he needed.

Just after Hiccup stood up on his feet and started to tighten the straps of his flight vest, the silence of the cove was broken by a loud scraping noise.

After she was finished with all of her chores, Rapunzel went outside of her tower, but not before making sure that Pascal was on her left shoulder. Rapunzel had been hoping that Hiccup sent a letter, but to her dismay, the mailbox's flag was down, which always meant there was no letter for her. The last time Rapunzel received a letter from Hiccup, it was yesterday, but she didn't want to believe that was the last letter she would get from him. Hiccup already had written a total of five letters to Rapunzel, and if Hiccup didn't want to keep writing to her, then he would've told her that in a letter.

She wondered if maybe Hiccup didn't really agree that the dream she described in her most recent letter was some sort of vision foretelling his future. That's when Rapunzel began to worry a lot more that she scared Hiccup off and he now thought that she was a crazy person who couldn't be trusted. If that was truly the case, then there didn't seem to be any reason for the mailbox to still exist, so Rapunzel turned around to go back inside the tower. She began to search for an object that was sharp enough to cut off the mailbox's post, and it didn't take long for Rapunzel to find a dagger in a drawer.

Although it was true Rapunzel could just get her mother to do it instead, she really felt this was something that she could take care of all on her own. Rapunzel knew that the woman wouldn't approve of her daughter making use of such a dangerous item, but it's not like she would keep using it more. Nevertheless, how would Rapunzel explain to her mother about the mailbox being destroyed without letting her mother know she used a dagger to do it? Rapunzel didn't want to lie, and she figured that Mother Gothel would feel a lot better if she was told from her daughter that the mailbox didn't work at all. As she walked out of the tower again, Rapunzel could hear Pascal squeaking loudly in protest, as if the lizard knew of what his friend was going to do.

"It's alright, Pascal," Rapunzel said, trying to calm him down. "I don't think we'll get a letter from Hiccup anymore, so I'm just getting rid of the mailbox."

Pascal continued to squeak in disapproval, as he didn't want to believe that Rapunzel truly wanted to go through with this, but the girl tuned him out. She got down on her knees and slowly brought the dagger's blade up to the wood of the mailbox's post, and Rapunzel tried her best to hold back tears.

"Well, Hiccup, I guess this is goodbye." Rapunzel murmured, and just as she began to cut the wood, the girl stopped when she heard a familiar sound.

Rapunzel heard that sound enough to already know what the source of it was, and she raised her head to see that the mailbox's flag had been raised. She stared at the flag for only a few seconds before dropping the dagger from her hand and letting it fall to the grass, and she didn't bother picking it up. A smile had started to appear on Rapunzel's face as she stood up on her feet, and she also felt her heart swell up with pure joy at the exact same time.

Rapunzel wasn't ignoring Pascal's squeaking anymore like earlier, and she turned to see him make a gesture for her to go ahead and open up the mailbox. Not even about ten seconds had gone by as Rapunzel opened the mailbox, put a hand inside, and pulled out a few folded sheets of parchment paper. She was about to go back inside the tower when Rapunzel realized that she almost forgot about the dagger and Rapunzel didn't want to leave it behind.

The girl looked down at the grass for a moment before easily spotting the dagger from its silver blade and Rapunzel carefully picked it up by the handle. If she had failed to remember the dagger, then there would've been a good chance of her mother finding the dagger herself and jumping to conclusions. With the dagger in one hand, along with Hiccup's letter in the other, Rapunzel went inside the tower, but not before closing the mailbox and lowering its flag.

Now that she was inside, Rapunzel put the dagger back into the same drawer where she found it, and made her way up the staircase to her bedroom. She sat down in front of her vanity mirror and placed the letter on top of the desk before unfolding the letter and beginning to read what Hiccup had written.

Dear Rapunzel,

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not sending a letter to you sooner, but I couldn't be able to write one and get it to you without having my father worried about where I went off to in the morning, and my last training exam just happened this afternoon, so I wanted to get as much rest for it as possible. I couldn't stop thinking about one thing last night, and that was the nightmare you described to me in your most recent letter, and I actually believe it had been a vision of what my future will look like, so if that was your first vision or if you've had others in the past, I'd really want to know your answer. Anyway, this last training exam was the one that would decide who will get to kill a Monstrous Nightmare tomorrow and it was just me and Astrid facing against the Gronckle, and I gladly would've let her win the exam, since I didn't want to have anything to do with killing a dragon, but luck wasn't on my side.

The Gronckle spotted me, which meant I had no choice but to incapacitate it, so I dropped my axe and shield and left the Gronckle harmless and lolling on the ground like an overweight dog. Unsurprisingly, the Elder chose me over Astrid, so now, I've decided to do what's best for everyone and leave Berk. Not just for a few days or a few weeks, or even a few months, but forever, and I mean it, I would rather fly off on Toothless and explore the rest of the world rather than have to kill a dragon, or worse, get found out and have Toothless killed by my tribe. Me and Toothless have already proven to ourselves and each other that we could make do. We could go wherever we want to go, find fresh water to drink, caves to sleep in, catch all the fish we want to eat, I hadn't really thought past all of that yet, thinking of the future wasn't something I liked to do often.

I will regret leaving my father behind and causing him pain, and not seeing Astrid again, but she hated me more than ever now that I had taken away all of her glory, and there was no changing anyone's mind, but I do think that something good can happen from leaving Berk for good, I'm able to come visit you. I'm guessing your mother won't be happy to see Toothless, but I'm sure that she'll come around after I prove to her that he's not dangerous, and it would be too much to ask if Toothless and I can stay with you, since I don't think your tower has enough space, and it's better for us to find a home of our own. As for the 'floating lights' you've written about, I honestly don't know what they are, and I wish I knew to help you out, but me and Toothless would gladly take you to see them when your birthday comes, but only if you wanted us to do that for you, and if your mother was okay with letting us do that too.

Of course, this would mean you'll have to tell her that we've been writing letters, but we both know it wouldn't be right for you to leave your home without getting permission from your mother to do so, and it's good to have her know where you'll be so that she doesn't get worried sick about where you are. If you're planning to send a letter to me, you should save your paper because I won't be able to get it, me and Toothless will already be up in the sky by now, and since your tower's not on Berk, it's going to take a while until we arrive, and we're hoping that we'll get there before the sun comes down. I have to say that I've really enjoyed writing to you, Rapunzel, and I can't wait for us to finally meet, so please don't worry, I'll be seeing you very soon.

Sincerely, Hiccup

Once she was finished with reading Hiccup's letter, Rapunzel stayed quiet as she got up from her chair while still holding the letter in one of her hands. Pascal wondered of what his friend could be feeling at the moment, and he quickly got a pretty good idea when Rapunzel began jumping up and down. Luckily for the chameleon, Rapunzel stopped as she realized that Pascal was still on her shoulder, and it was better to let out her excitement in words.

"You're never going to believe this, Pascal, but Hiccup's coming here, and he's even offered to take me to see the floating lights!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

Right after he heard that news, Pascal let out a few squeaks of joy, because he knew how important it was for Rapunzel to see those floating lights.

"He also wrote that I should have Mother's permission to go with him, and I agree with that, since I don't want her to be worried." Rapunzel added.

Rapunzel started thinking of how she would tell her mother about her correspondence with Hiccup until a familiar voice ended her train of thoughts.

"Oh, Rapunzel, I have a big surprise!" Mother Gothel shouted cheerfully, as she walked up the staircase into the home that she shared with Rapunzel.

The girl didn't respond back to her mother instantly, because Rapunzel was deciding on whether or not she should show all of Hiccup's letters as proof. Eventually, she chose to show just the most recent letter from Hiccup, and if her mother wanted to see the rest, then Rapunzel would show all of them.

"Uh, I do too!" Rapunzel answered loudly, as she came out of her room and went down the stairs, but not before making sure Pascal hid in her room.

"Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger!" Mother Gothel shouted, as she got much closer to the trapdoor that would lead her to the main room of the tower.

"I seriously doubt it." Rapunzel whispered to herself as she glanced at Hiccup's letter, then concealed it behind her back when her mother appeared.

"I brought back parsnips!" Mother Gothel announced as Rapunzel came into view. "I'm going to make hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite – surprise!"

Rapunzel wasn't all that excited or surprised about either of those things, but she knew her mother would find it strange if she didn't act like she was.

"Wow, Mother, that's so great!" Rapunzel shouted as she feigned enthusiasm. "Thank you, Mother, but there's something that I really want to tell you."

"Please don't tell me that you don't like hazelnut soup anymore, because you should know I went very far to get these parsnips." Mother Gothel replied.

"No, Mother, I still like hazelnut soup," Rapunzel said, and she saw her mother sigh in relief. "I was hoping to talk to you about the mailbox outside."

"In case you've forgotten, Rapunzel, if you want to spend time out of the tower, then you can't put anything into that mailbox." Mother Gothel reminded.

"Yes, I know you said that, Mother, but the truth is. . .after you allowed me to go outside, I wrote a letter and put it inside the mailbox." Rapunzel confessed.

Just as those last few words left her mouth, Rapunzel could see her mother's eyes widening, but she wasn't sure if that happened to be a good thing. All of a sudden, Mother Gothel closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, and Rapunzel didn't know was that her mother did this to calm herself down.

"Okay, so what did you write in your letter, Rapunzel," Mother Gothel asked curiously. "You didn't write down your name and where we lived, did you?"

Rapunzel now began to doubt showing her mother the rest of the letters, and she wondered if it was a good idea for her to meet Hiccup and Toothless. She could only imagine what her mother's reaction would be like if she knew that the boy and his dragon would be arriving at the tower before sundown.

"No, Mother, the only thing I wrote down was if someone out there knew what the floating lights were, but I didn't get a response." Rapunzel fibbed.

Once again, Mother Gothel let out a sigh of relief and then she came toward Rapunzel to sweep her into a warm hug. "Oh, you almost had me worried!"

Although she was glad her mother wasn't upset anymore, Rapunzel felt sure it wouldn't stay that way for long when Hiccup and Toothless got here. She had to figure out how she could get her mother away from the tower for at least a few hours, and luckily, an idea had come to Rapunzel's mind. Despite the fact it would have Mother Gothel gone for about three days, Rapunzel was sure she would be all right without her mother for that long.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Mother," Rapunzel replied, as she hugged her mother back. "I was wondering if you could get something for me right now."

Mother Gothel pulled back from the embrace with Rapunzel so she could look the young girl in the eye. "And what is it you want?" The woman asked.

"New paint. The paint made from the white shells you once brought me." Rapunzel answered, while hoping that her mother would take the trip for her.

"Well, that is a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost three days' time," Mother Gothel said. "Can't you wait until your birthday? It's only in a few months."

"The paint could be like a special early present for my birthday and I promise that I'll never talk about the floating lights again." Rapunzel persuaded.

Mother Gothel's face brightened up a bit, if getting this paint would mean Rapunzel won't ever mention those lights, then she'll gladly go on this trip.

"You're sure you'll be all right on your own?" Mother Gothel asked, since she wanted to be certain Rapunzel could handle herself while she's away.

"I know I'm safe as long as I'm here." Rapunzel responded, as she pulled her mother into a hug, and the woman kissed the top of the girl's head.

Rapunzel went to the kitchen and packed some food for her mother's journey, while Mother Gothel walked over to the coat rack and put on her cloak. Once the basket was filled with enough food, such as fruit, cheese and bread, Rapunzel gave it to her mother, who gently took it from the girl's hands.

"I'll be back in three days' time." Mother Gothel said before she walked over to the staircase, and looked back at Rapunzel. "I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more." Rapunzel replied as she made sure to have a smile on her face so that her mother wouldn't change her mind about going on the trip.

"I love you most." Mother Gothel responded, before she went down the staircase, and Rapunzel waited for a few minutes before looking out the window.

She kept her eyes glued to her mother until the woman disappeared through the tunnel that led into the forest, and Rapunzel went back up to her room.

"My mother's gone, Pascal, so you can come out now." Rapunzel said, but not before getting down on her knees and holding out the palm of her hand.

A few seconds went by until Pascal had come into Rapunzel's sight and stood on her palm, then the girl got herself up and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Toothless and Hiccup will be here before sundown today, so I guess all we can do now is keep ourselves busy to pass the time." Rapunzel suggested.

Pascal made a squeak in agreement, and the chameleon kept quiet for a while as Rapunzel thought of what activity the two of them should do right now.

"Oh, I know! Let's play hide-and-seek!" Rapunzel shouted, and although Pascal wasn't a big fan of that game, he'd never mind playing it with Rapunzel.

"You go hide, and I'll count right here!" Rapunzel said, as she brought down the palm of her hand to the floor so that Pascal could go find a spot to hide.

Before she began counting, Rapunzel couldn't help but imagine of how much fun her and Pascal would have with Hiccup and Toothless once they arrived.

A few hours later. . .

"No, it totally makes sense." Astrid responded in agreement. "It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and that's their queen. It controls them."

Toothless glided into the cove and not long after he touched down on the moonlit beach, Astrid leapt off of the dragon and ran towards the village.

"Let's find your dad." Astrid said, as she definitely believed what they found out was information the chief had to know about as soon as possible.

"No," Hiccup replied before jumping off Toothless and running to catch up with Astrid and stop her. "No! Not yet. They'll. . .kill Toothless." He added.

"Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully." Hiccup said, before he started to walk away from Astrid, who eyed Hiccup with a incredulous look.

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' nest, the thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?" Astrid asked in disbelief.

Hiccup knew that if he sided with the dragons, then he would be facing exile, or possibly death, but Hiccup didn't care about what happened to him. The dragons weren't the ones to blame, all this time they were slaves to a huge monster, they were in a situation where they had no other choice. Hiccup took a deep breath before slowly turning to face Astrid with a serious face and forced as much passion into his voice for what he said next.

"Yes." Hiccup answered firmly, and Astrid was taken back with the anger that was on her face gone. "He's not a pet dragon, he's my best friend."

Astrid now became impressed of how loyal Hiccup was to Toothless, and she also realized their relationship was so much deeper than she thought. It was right then and there that Astrid knew Hiccup wasn't going to change his mind, and she was much more willing to listen to him from now on.

"Okay," Astrid said, but she didn't want to leave it at that, she wanted to know exactly what Hiccup's plan was. "Then what do we do?" She asked.

"Just. . .give me until tomorrow." Hiccup responded tiredly, while glancing in Astrid's direction for a few seconds. "I'll figure something out." He added.

"Okay." Astrid answered and she was quiet for a moment before she punched Hiccup on his left shoulder. "That's for kidnapping me." She explained.

Hiccup started to rub his arm while giving Astrid an expression as if he couldn't believe that she hit him again, and he turned to Toothless for support. All the dragon did was snort and jerk his head as if to tell Hiccup that he was on his own this time, and he returned to drinking from the moonlit pond. When Hiccup turned to face Astrid again, she already had her back to him, which made Hiccup assume that she was going to leave, but he was wrong.

"And. . .thanks." Astrid murmured, but not before she looked at Hiccup first, and Hiccup's eyes widened, since he didn't expect to hear that from Astrid.

"For what?" Hiccup asked curiously, and Toothless had brought his head up from the pond because he was also interested to know Astrid's reason.

"For. . .kidnapping me." Astrid replied with a half smile on her face, and she took a few steps before breaking into a run toward the cove's entrance.

Hiccup just stood in stunned silence until Astrid was gone and a smile soon appeared on his face as he replayed what Astrid told him before she left. With that polite expression, Astrid confirmed she was going with Hiccup's way, and it was the first drop in an ocean of change to come for the village. It made Hiccup feel good to know that he'll have Astrid's support for his plan, but he needed to come up with one, so it was best to do that right now.

Hiccup sat down on a rock nearby and closed his eyes before he started to form a plan in his head, and a few minutes passed until he had an idea. If Hiccup was going to convince everybody in Berk that dragons weren't dangerous creatures, then he had to do it in the most public way possible. His final exam was tomorrow, and although he would be expected by everybody to kill the Nightmare, Hiccup would try to gain its trust instead.

After all, Hiccup had already befriended a Night Fury, which was known as the rarest dragon, so surely, Hiccup could do the same with another. Even though there was a very good chance that Hiccup could get killed, it was the only way to show the people of Berk that dragons were intelligent and emotive creatures just as much as his fellow humans were. Now that he finally had a plan, Hiccup got up from the rock and came toward Toothless before wrapping both of his arms around the dragon's neck. Toothless returned the embrace by purring and wrapping one wing around the boy, who rested his head on the dragon's shoulder before letting go.

"I'd better get going, Toothless, I need some rest," Hiccup said, while looking at the dragon in the eye. "I'll see you in the morning, bud." He added.

The Night Fury purred again as he watched Hiccup look for his basket and just he found it, instead of picking up the basket, Hiccup stood still for a bit. What Toothless didn't know was that Hiccup recalled writing in his letter for Rapunzel that he and Toothless would arrive at her tower before sundown. The sun had gone down a while ago, a few hours to be exact, so that meant Hiccup unintentionally kept Rapunzel waiting for him to show up all this time.

Hiccup literally made a face palm as he realized this, and he knew that he had to make it up to Rapunzel somehow, so Hiccup wondered how he could. For all he knew, Rapunzel must have been sleeping right now, or maybe she was still awake and hoping that Hiccup and Toothless would still be coming. He also remembered that Rapunzel wrote in a recent letter she had an awful nightmare of watching him and Toothless face off against a very large dragon.

The thing that him and Astrid saw inside the dragons' nest happened to be a very large dragon, and suddenly, Hiccup knew how to make it up to Rapunzel. Him and Toothless could find Rapunzel, bring her to Berk, where she can help him prove to the villagers that everything they knew about dragons was wrong. Despite the fact he was quite tired and Toothless probably was too, Hiccup thought it had to be done as quick as possible so he could get a little bit of rest. With that decided, Hiccup ran over to Toothless and quickly jumped on his saddle, but Toothless was surprised that his best friend wanted to go flying again.

"C'mon, Toothless, we have to go and find Rapunzel," Hiccup said, and since he felt the dragon deserved to be given a reason, the boy continued talking.

"In my last letter, I promised Rapunzel that I'd. . .bring her to Berk, because she's always wanted to leave her tower and see the world." Hiccup claimed.

Only a couple of seconds went by until Toothless nodded in agreement and then he took off into the sky with Hiccup, as the boy was determined to finally meet the girl he'd been writing to for the past few weeks.


	17. The Long Awaited Meeting

Rapunzel didn't want to be upset with Hiccup, but it seemed like she had a good reason at the moment, considering that he wrote in his most recent letter that him and Toothless would arrive at her tower before sundown, but the sun had come down a long time ago. Even though it was dark outside, Rapunzel preferred to stay wide awake and wait for Hiccup to come, since Mother Gothel wasn't around to scold her for staying up so late, and Rapunzel had done a good job of not waking up her mother since she was four years old. Rapunzel refused to believe that Hiccup and his dragon weren't going to show up, especially because Hiccup seemed so serious about leaving his home for good, so Rapunzel tried her best to convince herself that her tower and his village were only a great distance away. The young woman had to admit it was rather difficult to search for Toothless and Hiccup in the star-filled sky, so she felt it wouldn't hurt to take a break.

Pascal had been standing on Rapunzel's shoulder ever since Mother Gothel left, and he could tell from the look on Rapunzel's face how she was feeling. Rapunzel wanted to keep her mind off Hiccup and Toothless and focus on something else, but she usually did one hobby at night, and that's to watch the floating lights, which only came on the night of her birthday, and it wasn't coming until a few more months from now. All of a sudden, Rapunzel heard something outside, flapping, like a bird's wings against the air, but much bigger, and she quickly ran over to the window. Rapunzel took a moment to search for the source of the noise, but there was nothing, and she turned her attention to Pascal, who was a little frightened.

"It's alright, Pascal. I'm sure it was nothing." Rapunzel assured, but just then a loud thud came from the top of the tower, which startled the two of them.

Pascal quickly hid behind the nape of Rapunzel's neck as the girl looked around the tower for something that she could use as a weapon to fight back. It wasn't long before Rapunzel had chosen a frying pan from the kitchen, and she clutched it tightly before tiptoeing closer to the tower's window. Rapunzel barely managed to stifle a shriek when a pair of legs appeared, dangling from the roof and searching desperately for the window's ledge.

Even though she was scared that somebody was trying to break into her home, Rapunzel couldn't help but take a closer look at the person's footwear. They were wearing a pair of dark brown fur boots, which happened to be the same kind Rapunzel saw Hiccup wear in the nightmare she had last night. Although a part of her wanted to believe that it really was Hiccup who wore these same boots, Rapunzel wanted to wait and see the person's face to be absolutely sure.

When the person's legs began to swing, Rapunzel took a few steps back, but still readied herself to strike with her pan just in case this person wasn't Hiccup. A figure suddenly landed inside the tower with an ungraceful thump on the floor in a tangle of limbs, and the intruder soon got back up while brushing themselves off. This person currently had their back to Rapunzel, but when they finally turned around, Rapunzel's eyes widened as the pan fell out of her hands completely.

"Hiccup?" Rapunzel gaped at the boy for a moment, and before Hiccup even had a chance to speak, the girl ran forward and engulfed him in a big hug.

Hiccup was a little taken aback from Rapunzel's affection, since he expected her to be angry from the fact he made it to her tower much later than expected. Nonetheless, Hiccup reminded himself that Rapunzel was giving him a hug, and so he returned the affection by wrapping both of his arms around her back. As they embraced each other, Hiccup couldn't help but notice the long trail of her blonde hair, which he didn't believe Rapunzel mentioned in any of her letters.

Rapunzel probably must have felt embarrassed to write about her hair and how long it really was, so Hiccup didn't think it was necessary to be upset with her. When the two of them had finally pulled away from one another, Hiccup took a moment to get a look at Rapunzel, and he had to admit she was beautiful. All of a sudden, Hiccup realized that he didn't have all the time in the world to admire Rapunzel's beauty, he had a mission to bring Rapunzel to his village.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Rapunzel," Hiccup said genuinely, before his eyes widened as he wondered if Rapunzel's mother was here in the tower too.

"Oh my gods, Rapunzel, we should be very quiet if your mother's asleep." Hiccup advised, and he became confused when Rapunzel started giggling.

"My mother's not here, Hiccup, I asked if she could get an early present for my birthday, so she won't be back for three days." Rapunzel explained.

"So, did you tell her that we've been writing letters before she left?" Hiccup asked, but not before breathing a sigh of relief from what Rapunzel said.

"Well, after I told her that I put a letter inside the mailbox, she got very upset, so I just said that I didn't get any response." Rapunzel answered.

Hiccup's eyebrows furrowed as he started to think about why Rapunzel's mother would be unhappy about the girl having contact with someone. Perhaps it was simply because Rapunzel had been the woman's only child, and her mother didn't want to lose her, but it had to be more than that. Even if Hiccup hadn't met Toothless and he didn't have the chance to meet Rapunzel, she still would've been writing to someone who couldn't reach her. Once again, Hiccup became aware that there wasn't much time for him to think about why Rapunzel's mother didn't approve of the girl using the mailbox.

"It's okay, Rapunzel, your mother didn't have to know," Hiccup said, before taking Rapunzel by the hand. "Now we have to get back to Berk." He added.

"Hiccup, wait," Rapunzel replied, as she pulled Hiccup back to face her. "Your letter said that you're weren't going back to your village." She reminded.

"Yeah, about that. . ." Hiccup's voice trailed off as he believed that Rapunzel deserved to know about everything that happened after he sent the letter.

"There's a reason why I was late coming here, Rapunzel, but you should probably sit down first, because it's not really a short story." Hiccup suggested.

Hiccup kept himself quiet as Rapunzel looked around for a chair, and once she was sitting down on one, Hiccup went ahead with his long explanation.

"Remember that large dragon you saw in your nightmare?" Hiccup asked, and Rapunzel nodded her head. "I saw it too, but for real this time." He added.

Hiccup went on to tell Rapunzel everything that happened for him in the past few hours, from Astrid discovering Toothless at the cove to the three of them finding the Dragons' Nest and discovering a gigantic dragon that fed on the other dragons unless they brought it livestock. The boy gave Rapunzel a minute to process all of the information that he just told her, and during that time, Hiccup took a few deep breaths from talking for so long. When Rapunzel didn't respond to him right away, Hiccup took the chance to speak first, and then he realized that he hadn't given an apology to Rapunzel for his lateness.

"First of all, Rapunzel, I'm sorry for not showing up earlier, and I'm sorry if I scared you by landing on top of your tower." Hiccup apologized genuinely.

"It's okay, Hiccup, I'm just happy you came." Rapunzel responded, as she got up from the chair and put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder while smiling at him.

Just when the Viking smiled back at Rapunzel, he was taken by surprise and literally jumped as a chameleon appeared from behind Rapunzel's neck.

"However, it's Pascal here you should apologize to," Rapunzel requested, while glancing at her green friend. "You got him pretty scared for a moment."

Hiccup gave a nod to Rapunzel before lowering his head to Pascal's level, and Hiccup could quickly notice that the chameleon had a frown on his face.

"It's nice to meet you too, Pascal, and I'm sorry for the way I scared you." Hiccup said kindly, as he held up a finger. "Could you please forgive me?"

Pascal looked at Hiccup's finger for a few seconds before he turned to face Rapunzel, who smiled and nodded her head to assure her longtime friend that Hiccup was being truly sincere. Even though the chameleon hid behind Rapunzel's neck for the whole time, Pascal did manage to hear Hiccup's whole explanation of why he arrived late at the tower. Pascal knew how important it was for Rapunzel to accomplish her dream of seeing the floating lights in person, and he remembered that this was the same boy who promised Rapunzel to take her and see them personally, so anybody who wanted to make Rapunzel happy was a good person in Pascal's book. To Hiccup's relief and Rapunzel's delight, they saw a smile come on Pascal's face as he shook Hiccup's finger up and down with one of his hands.

"Seems like I'm forgiven now," Hiccup said, as he raised his head back to Rapunzel's level. "I hope that we didn't damage your roof too badly."

"You know, Hiccup, you didn't have to get inside through the window." Rapunzel replied, before pointing a finger at the trapdoor in the floor.

"There's a door on the other side of the tower, and it leads to a staircase." Rapunzel revealed, and all Hiccup did was literally make a facepalm.

Hiccup suddenly felt quite stupid for not having Toothless land on the ground so he could walk around the tower and find another entrance.

"Please, don't be so hard on yourself, Hiccup, it's my fault that you didn't know, because I never wrote about it in my letters." Rapunzel admitted.

"It's my fault too, Rapunzel, I didn't ask you if there was another entrance in my last letter, but I guess it doesn't matter now." Hiccup responded.

"That's right, Hiccup, but I have a question for you. If you're going back to your village, why do you want me to come with you?" Rapunzel asked.

The girl was caught off guard completely as Hiccup took both of her hands in his and gave her a resolute stare, meaning he was very serious now.

"Even though we were an ocean apart, you've given me more respect and kindness in your letters than anyone else in Berk since the day I was born. Besides Toothless, you've become a friend that I was always happy to communicate with. I absolutely believe that you can help me prove to my village that dragons aren't monstrous beasts, and they're amazing creatures that have been mistreated and misunderstood for seven generations." Hiccup explained.

"Seven generations! How long is that?" Rapunzel asked, while she felt very flattered that Hiccup wanted her help with something important to him.

"About three hundred years." Hiccup revealed, and that's when Rapunzel's eyes grew wider. "That's how long Vikings have been at war with dragons."

Rapunzel wanted nothing more than to join Hiccup and help him show the people of Berk that dragons weren't dangerous, but there was one problem.

"I'd love to go with you, Hiccup, so is this going to take three days, because you know that's when my mother comes back home." Rapunzel replied.

When she noticed a frown appear on Hiccup's face as the boy looked away from her, Rapunzel started to believe that she wouldn't get a good answer.

"To be honest, Rapunzel, it's probably going to take a bit longer than three days. Berk has a big population, so it might even take weeks." Hiccup said.

"Weeks? I can't be gone for weeks, Hiccup! My mother will be worried sick if I'm not here. She'll probably think I've been kidnapped!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Rapunzel, that doesn't need to happen. You could just leave a note that will tell her everything, so she won't worry at all." Hiccup suggested.

Rapunzel had to admit that was a good idea, but she still wanted to know if Hiccup's village had any of the things that her mother described in the past.

"Okay, Hiccup, there's just one thing that I have to ask you, and it's very important, so I want you to please give me a honest answer." Rapunzel requested.

Hiccup gave a nod before he started to wonder if Rapunzel's question would be of whether she'll be safe in Berk, and he wouldn't hesitate to say yes to that.

"Does Berk have any ruffians and thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals, snakes, the plague, large bugs, and men with pointy teeth?" Rapunzel inquired.

For a moment, all that Hiccup did was stare blankly at Rapunzel until he smiled and chuckled for a bit, which led the girl to think about what was so funny.

"No, Rapunzel, my village doesn't have any of those things, and I promise you, none of the Vikings in Berk have pointy teeth whatsoever." Hiccup answered.

Rapunzel couldn't help but breathe a huge sigh of relief from what she just heard, and she felt so much happier from the next few things Hiccup told her.

"I swear that you'll be safe in Berk the whole time you're there, Rapunzel, and after you've helped me out, I'll keep my word and take you to see those floating lights for your birthday, and then we'll take you back home." Hiccup declared.

As much as Rapunzel didn't want her mother to worry about her, she really believed that Mother Gothel would be very proud to hear of how her daughter helped put an end to a stubborn three-century-old war between Vikings and dragons. Rapunzel couldn't be able to live with herself if somebody in Hiccup's village had gotten hurt while knowing she was able to stop that from happening if she had been there, so it was right then and there that Rapunzel made her decision.

"Okay, Hiccup, I'll come with you," Rapunzel declared, before glancing at her room. "I just need some time to write a letter for Mother, and then we can go."

"Great, I'll be waiting right here." Hiccup responded, and he watched as Rapunzel quickly ran up the staircase and went through the curtain into her bedroom.

Once Rapunzel was out of sight, Hiccup thought that she wouldn't mind at all if he looked around her tower, since Hiccup assumed that Rapunzel would be writing a very long letter. Unfortunately, Hiccup wasn't able to get a good look at anything because it was nighttime, but he didn't make a big deal out of it, since Hiccup knew that he won't be staying here for long. Now that he thought about it, Hiccup actually felt relieved to know that there was a staircase to take him outside, since he could just abandon his original plan of jumping out from the window and praying for Toothless to catch him.

Speaking of the dragon, Hiccup was also feeling very positive that Toothless' meeting with Rapunzel wouldn't have a bad outcome, because Toothless already had knowledge of Rapunzel and her correspondence with Hiccup. Hiccup made sure to be very careful as he got up on the window and looked down to check if Toothless was waiting on the ground, and it was confirmed as the Night Fury was staring right back at Hiccup with his bright green eyes.

"Don't worry, bud! We'll be down in a minute!" Hiccup shouted, as he didn't want his best friend to be worried and think Rapunzel wasn't coming with them.

Toothless simply walked away from the tower and breathed fire on the grass while moving in a circle, then he patted down the warm soil before laying down. Hiccup took this as a sign that the dragon didn't believe a word that he just said, and Hiccup took a moment to wonder of why Toothless would feel that way. All of a sudden, Hiccup remembered that he did spend a lot more than one minute talking with Rapunzel after he arrived, so they had to be going very soon. Hiccup turned around and got back into the tower, and he was about to call out for Rapunzel when he saw her come out from her room and come down the stairs. Hiccup also noticed that Rapunzel was holding a few sheets of paper in her hands, and he knew it meant she was finally done with the letter for her mother.

"I'm ready to go, Hiccup," Rapunzel announced enthusiastically, but not before placing her letter on a table and walking over to stand face to face with him.

"After you." Hiccup said, as he gestured for Rapunzel to go down the stairs first, and Hiccup was ready to follow when he remembered her excessive hair.

Hiccup didn't think it was a good idea for Rapunzel's hair to stay loose during her time in Berk, since it could catch dirt and lots of Vikings could step on it.

"Hey, Rapunzel," Hiccup said, and he waited until Rapunzel was facing him before speaking again. "Would you mind having your hair braided?" He asked.

"If you don't mind me asking, Hiccup, why should I have my hair braided?" Rapunzel inquired, as she wanted to know why Hiccup asked her that question.

"If a Viking has long hair, they usually have it braided so that people don't step on it, and it doesn't catch dirt from the ground either." Hiccup explained.

Rapunzel didn't want her hair to get dirty or be stepped on by anyone in Berk, so she thought that it wouldn't be so bad to have someone braid her hair.

"Sure, Hiccup, I'd like it if my hair's braided, but I don't want it to get cut, because my mother wouldn't be so happy if that happened." Rapunzel replied.

As much as Hiccup wanted to ask Rapunzel why her mother wouldn't like the girl having a haircut, he knew it could wait, since they needed to return to Berk.

"Okay, Rapunzel, I promise your hair won't be cut, now we should get going," Hiccup said, as he didn't really want to rush her out, but they had to leave now.

Rapunzel turned to go down the secret staircase, but not before gathering up all of her blonde hair, so that Hiccup didn't trip on it, even if it was by accident. When they finally made it outside the tower, Hiccup had expected Rapunzel to be frightened when she saw Toothless for the very first time, but she wasn't. Rapunzel didn't hesitate to walk closer to the dragon, who stood up from the ground right when he spotted her, and Toothless didn't make a sound either.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Toothless," Rapunzel said softly, as she brought one hand under his chin, and started to scratch, causing the dragon to purr.

Hiccup was simply amazed of how Rapunzel approached his friend in a sweet and friendly manner, which meant he was right to bring her along to his village. If Rapunzel could give this treatment toward Toothless so easily, Hiccup was positive that she'd manage to do the same with the other dragons in the arena. Hiccup finally climbed onto Toothless and secured himself into the saddle, then he waited until Rapunzel was at the dragon's side before holding out a hand. Rapunzel took Hiccup's outstretched hand and carefully climbed over the pedal, lines, and harness before settling behind Hiccup with her arms around his waist.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, bud, we can go now," Hiccup declared, and he turned around slightly to face Rapunzel. "You might want to hang on." He added.

Although he could feel Rapunzel's arms becoming a little tighter, Hiccup didn't mind, since he wanted Rapunzel to be safe as much as possible for the flight. Rapunzel felt like her heart shot up into her mouth as Toothless took off into the air, and Pascal held on to the girl's dress for dear life as this happened. It wasn't until Toothless had leveled out and sailed as gently as a leaf on water when Rapunzel took a deep breath before taking in the sight around her.

Rapunzel was no stranger to staring at the night sky with her birthday, but this time, it was so much different, as the stars were closer than ever before. When the blonde carefully leaned to the right and looked down, Rapunzel gasped in awe as she noticed they were flying above a large blanket of clouds. Rapunzel felt tears prick her eyes as she imagined what it would be like to fly with Hiccup and Toothless on the night of her birthday; they'd probably bring her close enough to the floating lights that she'd be able to touch them. The girl didn't think she even had to ask Hiccup if him and his dragon would do that for her, as Rapunzel believed that they wouldn't hesitate to say yes.

"Wow, Hiccup, this is all so beautiful," Rapunzel said, as she continued to look at the sky and clouds. "It's sad how your villagers never seen this before."

"I'm hoping that will change tomorrow, Rapunzel, because everyone's going to watch my final exam, including my dad, since he's the chief." Hiccup replied.

"What are we going to tell the villagers if they ask how do we know each other? Should we just say that we've been writing letters?" Rapunzel inquired.

Even if Hiccup showed Rapunzel's letters to the villagers, they'd probably think it was crazy for a letter to be able to travel from one mailbox to another. It was unlikely that the people in Berk would believe their relationship all started with a magical mailbox, so Hiccup had to think of a very good cover story. The villagers may believe in Gods like Thor and Odin, but it needed to be a story that didn't involve the fact Hiccup had found her so easily with a dragon. Eventually, Hiccup came up with something, but even though Rapunzel probably wouldn't go through with it, he didn't have anything else at the moment.

"They won't believe us, Rapunzel, so we'll tell them that I found you washed up on the shore after your boat got wrecked in the ocean." Hiccup informed.

"Okay, but why would I be using a boat in the first place?" Rapunzel asked curiously. "I'm sure that they'll want to know a reason for that." She added.

Hiccup had to admit Rapunzel did have a point there; it was best to give his father and the villagers as much information so they wouldn't get suspicious.

"Alright, we'll say that you wanted to escape from your mother because she's been emotionally abusive towards you for a few years now." Hiccup said.

"My mother's not abusive, Hiccup. She loves me very much, and she might say things that are a little mean sometimes, it's just teasing." Rapunzel replied.

Hearing this caused Hiccup to frown and think about all the things that the other teens on Berk had said to him before he impressed them in the arena. That was certainly not teasing back then, but Hiccup has never even met Rapunzel's mother, so he couldn't know whether the woman was abusive or not.

"Rapunzel, you said the villagers would want to know why you used a boat, and we can't tell them about Toothless because they'll kill him." Hiccup reminded.

That was the last thing Rapunzel wanted to happen, and even though she hasn't spent that much time with Toothless, she enjoyed being around the dragon. It wouldn't be the first time that Rapunzel has told a lie, since she wasn't completely honest with her mother about the letters before the woman left their home. As much as Rapunzel wanted to help Hiccup, she wanted to feel safe in his village too, so if a little white lie about her mother could guarantee that, so be it.

"Fine, Hiccup, we'll tell the villagers that my mother's abusive," Rapunzel said reluctantly, before she brought her attention to a green chameleon in particular.

"So, what about Pascal? I wouldn't say he's dangerous, since he can only change color, and it helps me know what kind of mood he's in." Rapunzel revealed.

If that was the only thing Pascal could do, then Hiccup had to agree with Rapunzel, but he still wasn't sure if it would be safe for the chameleon to be seen.

"Pascal should stay hidden, Rapunzel, but not forever. Just until we've proven to all the villagers that the dragons aren't vicious creatures." Hiccup responded.

Rapunzel didn't want to risk losing Pascal permanently, because they've been best friends ever since she was a little girl, so she turned slightly to face Pascal.

"I'm sorry, Pascal, but I don't want to take a chance and have one of the villagers hurt you, or worse, so you'll have to hide from them, okay?" Rapunzel asked.

Pascal was very familiar with hiding from someone, since he always blended into the background of Rapunzel's tower every time that her mother showed up. If the chameleon was able to keep out of sight from Rapunzel's mother for years, then Pascal could be able to do the same with the Vikings in Hiccup's village for the next few weeks. A smile appeared on Rapunzel's face right when she saw Pascal nod his head, and she felt glad that her friend wasn't unhappy at all about having to hide himself.

"Good news, Hiccup! Pascal doesn't have a problem with hiding from the villagers." Rapunzel announced, but not before bringing her mouth close to Hiccup's ear.

"Well, Rapunzel, I have good news too, we'll be arriving at Berk very soon." Hiccup replied, then he made a gesture with his head. "See for yourself." He added.

Rapunzel leaned her head again, and she gasped once more from the sight of Hiccup's village, which lit up from the fires inside the houses and guard statues.

"Wow, Hiccup, your village looks beautiful from way up here," Rapunzel said, as she admired the view. "So we're going to land in the cove, right?" She asked.

"Toothless always stays there, Rapunzel, so we'll be walking through the forest on our own, but don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time." Hiccup answered.

It didn't take long for Rapunzel to realize that Berk was a far distance away from the cove, and this would be her first time walking through a forest at nighttime. When the cove had finally come into sight, Toothless glided into the area and touched down on the moonlit beach, where Hiccup dismounted from his dragon. Hiccup lent out a hand for Rapunzel so that she'd get off from Toothless safely, and the grass tickled her bare feet lightly as they made contact with the ground.

"Hiccup?" A familiar voice said, and Hiccup's eyes widened as he turned around to find Astrid standing in front of them with her double-bladed axe in one hand.

"Astrid? What are you doing here?" Hiccup inquired, as he really wanted to know why Astrid showed up here in the cove when they didn't make plans to meet.

"My mother's axe was still here, so I came back to get it," Astrid responded, before pointing at Rapunzel with the axe itself. "Who's this, Hiccup?" She asked.

Although he knew that Rapunzel was going to meet Astrid eventually, Hiccup didn't expect it would happen this soon, but Astrid still deserved an explanation. Astrid wouldn't help him out if she didn't know the truth, even though there was a good chance that she wouldn't believe him, since it involved magical mailboxes.

"Her name is Rapunzel, and we've actually known each other for a while, Astrid, and what I'm about to tell you will probably sound crazy. . ." Hiccup replied.

"Hiccup, I already know that you have a Night Fury for a best friend, so I'm pretty sure that there can't be anything more crazy than that." Astrid responded.

Hiccup had to admit that Astrid did have a good point there, but before he told anything new to her, Hiccup turned so he could tell Rapunzel something first.

"She has to know, Rapunzel, and I don't mean the story that we came up with tonight, but the whole truth with the letters and everything." Hiccup informed.

Rapunzel was about to argue with Hiccup when she remembered that Astrid has already taken a flight on Toothless, so she knew what dragons were really like. Rapunzel thought this was very good, since not only could the three of them work together as a team, but her and Astrid could also become best friends in the process. Instead of saying a word, Rapunzel only gave a nod to show Hiccup that she understood, and the girl remained quiet as he turned around to face Astrid again.

Even though it took a while, Hiccup managed to tell Astrid plenty, from how long him and Rapunzel have sent each other letters to what they wrote about in their letters too. When Astrid didn't respond right away, Hiccup assumed that she was upset with him, but that couldn't have been right, since Astrid didn't have an angry expression on her face. It was quite possible that Astrid was only taking some time to process all of the information she just heard, and Hiccup didn't blame her, since he did tell Astrid a lot of things. Hiccup kept himself quiet as he saw Astrid lean her head to the left and look Rapunzel up and down, and Hiccup could only wonder of what Astrid was thinking before he noticed her moving to face him.

"Let me get this straight, Hiccup, for the past few weeks, you've written letters to a girl with long hair through a magical mailbox here in the cove?" Astrid inquired.

"That's correct, Astrid, and last night, Rapunzel had a nightmare which included the same monster we saw back at the dragon's nest tonight." Hiccup revealed.

Astrid's eyes widened and her mouth went agape from what she just heard, and Astrid walked closer to Rapunzel so she could learn more about her nightmare.

"So, Rapunzel, what was happening in your nightmare?" Astrid asked while having her arms crossed, as she still couldn't believe that it was a coincidence yet.

Rapunzel quickly moved her head to face Hiccup, as she wanted to know if it was okay for her to tell Astrid, and she knew his answer when he nodded his head. Even though Rapunzel had the nightmare many hours ago, it always felt fresh in her mind whenever she thought about it, so she told Astrid as much as possible. Rapunzel talked about the conversation she had with Hiccup in the beginning to the aerial battle him and Toothless had with the monster in the dragon's nest.

"Wait a minute, that thing we saw back there has wings?" Astrid asked, and instead of saying a word, Rapunzel only gave a nod while having a frown on her face.

"Astrid, even if Rapunzel never had that nightmare last night, I still would've brought her back to help, but I understand if you don't believe her-" Hiccup replied.

"I believe her." Astrid said, and this caused not only Hiccup and Rapunzel to widen their eyes, but for Toothless to bring his head up from drinking the pond's water.

"You do?" Hiccup asked in surprise, as he assumed Astrid wouldn't believe what Rapunzel said, considering she's never lived in Berk and they only just met right now.

"Yes, Hiccup, but no one in the village is going to take her seriously if she looks like this." Astrid replied, as she gestured with one hand to Rapunzel's lavender dress.

"Okay, so Rapunzel's going to need something new to wear," Hiccup informed before turning to face Rapunzel. "You don't mind if you have a new outfit?" He asked.

Rapunzel didn't answer back to Hiccup right away, as she wasn't entirely sure about getting rid of her lavender dress, since her mother had given it to her as a gift. The reason why Rapunzel has gotten so used to her lavender dress is because she's worn it for years now, but she thought it wouldn't hurt to wear a new dress. As much as she loved her lavender dress so much, Rapunzel believed it had been worn out for quite some time, so that's when she had finally made her decision.

"No, Hiccup, I don't mind at all," Rapunzel responded, and she turned her head to face Astrid again. "So, is there anything else that I'll need to wear?" She inquired.

"Definitely a pair of boots, because you don't want your feet to get dirty, and you never know when you'll step on something sharp, and your hair-" Astrid answered.

"Rapunzel's already agreed to have her hair braided, Astrid, and she doesn't want it to be cut, because her mother's not such a big fan of haircuts." Hiccup informed.

"Alright, no haircut, but there's just one more thing. She's going to need a new name, because Rapunzel doesn't sound so much like a Viking name." Astrid advised.

Hiccup liked Rapunzel's name very much, but now that he thought about it, he didn't really believe a Viking would have that name, so he had to admit Astrid was right. The parents in Berk always believed that a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls, but Hiccup didn't think that a hideous name would be right for Rapunzel. The reason why Ruffnut got her name is because she was a twin, and Astrid had her name because of her strength, so Rapunzel needed a name that was perfect.

"How about the name 'Zel'? I mean, it's short, it sounds cool, and I'm sure all the villagers will be able to remember it and pronounce it correctly." Hiccup suggested.

"So, my Viking name will be the last three letters of my real name?" Rapunzel inquired, and Hiccup quickly gave a nod of his head before he turned to face Astrid.

"What do you think, Astrid? 'Zel' is the only name I can come up with at the moment, but if you have another name in mind, I'd be happy to hear it." Hiccup said.

Astrid took a bit of time to think of a new name for Rapunzel, but she wasn't able to come up with anything, so she thought Hiccup's choice was better than nothing.

"I've got nothing, Hiccup, so I guess 'Zel' will have to do," Astrid responded before she turned to face Rapunzel. "Are you okay with having that name?" She asked.

Rapunzel believed there was no point in starting an argument, since she knew that having a new identity and outfit was all for her protection, so she smiled and nodded.

"I have a question," Rapunzel said, and this caused Hiccup to do the same as Astrid and make eye contact. "If this is going to last a few weeks, where will I be staying?"

"You'll be staying with me." Hiccup replied firmly, and the girls turned to face him, and they both had the same expression, with their eyes wide and their mouth agape.

Hiccup figured that they were only surprised and didn't expect he would even suggest his home, so Hiccup thought it was necessary to explain why it was a good idea.

"I'm the chief's son, and I don't think my dad will mind," Hiccup explained before turning to face Rapunzel. "When we get back to my house, you can have my bed."

"Are you sure, Hiccup? I mean, I could be fine having a blanket and lying in front of the fireplace." Rapunzel offered, while still being flattered about Hiccup's offering.

Hiccup frowned and shook his head, meaning he didn't agree with Rapunzel's idea, and he gently put a hand on the girl's shoulder while still looking her in the eye.

"If you're going to stay here for the next few weeks, Rapunzel, then you deserve to have the most comfortable place to sleep, and I really don't mind." Hiccup assured.

Astrid wasn't quite sure of whether to feel touched or jealous about Hiccup giving up his own bed for a girl that he apparently knew about through a series of letters. It didn't really matter how Astrid felt about it because Hiccup did have a point; he was the chief's son, so Rapunzel staying with him seemed to be the best option. Astrid also thought the three of them had spent more than enough time here in the cove, since they could be able to talk more while heading back to the village.

"He's right, Rapunzel, you should get to feel comfortable if you're staying in Berk for a while, and besides, we should probably go back right now." Astrid suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Hiccup responded before taking a glance at the Night Fury by the pond. "I'll just say goodnight to Toothless and we can go." He added.

It wasn't until Hiccup had walked over to the dragon that Rapunzel decided she should let Astrid know about Pascal, since they were going to see each other a lot.

"Hey, Astrid, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Rapunzel informed, before looking down at her left shoulder. "Pascal, could you please come out now?" She asked.

Just like Hiccup earlier, Astrid became quite startled by Pascal's emergence, since she had no idea that a small green animal was even hiding behind Rapunzel's neck.

"Since we're going to spend a lot of time together, I shouldn't keep any secrets from you, so this is Pascal, and we've been best friends for years." Rapunzel revealed.

"Thanks for letting me know about him, Rapunzel, but he should probably stay hidden, and just until the villagers believe dragons aren't that bad." Astrid suggested.

"Hiccup made that suggestion too, but Pascal doesn't have a problem with hiding, because he's always the one to do that when we play hide and seek." Rapunzel replied.

"Hide and seek, is that like some kind of game?" Astrid inquired, and even though she was probably right, she still wanted to be sure that's what it was from Rapunzel.

"Yes, Astrid, what happens is one person closes their eyes and counts to a number, while the other people hide and hope they don't get caught." Rapunzel explained.

"I don't think I've ever played that game before, Rapunzel, me and the other teens usually got together to put out fires during every dragon raid." Astrid responded.

"Hiccup wrote that the dragons usually steal livestock and burn houses down, but now it seems like we know the reason why they've been doing that." Rapunzel said.

Astrid gave a nod of her head, and she was about to say something when she noticed that Hiccup was standing right next to them, and had been doing so for a while.

"I've said goodnight to Toothless, so we can head back to the village now." Hiccup informed, before him and both of the girls started walking toward the cove's entrance.

Hiccup was the first to get onto the closest stone ledge and when he turned around, he saw that Astrid was holding out her axe to him, and he wondered why she did that. Suddenly, he realized that Astrid was still holding her axe, which meant she wouldn't be able to get herself onto the stone ledge using just one hand, so Hiccup carefully took her axe from her. As soon as Astrid was standing on the same stone ledge as Hiccup, she took her axe back from him, but not before helping Rapunzel get on the stone ledge they were standing on. They kept up this routine, with Hiccup climbing on a new stone ledge, and taking Astrid's axe from her so she could join him and help Rapunzel until they were all finally back in the forest. It wasn't until they were deeper into the woods when something came to Astrid's mind, and she thought it was important to ask Hiccup about it, since it had to do with his final test tomorrow.

"Hiccup, I know you've said that you're going to show the tribe that dragons aren't as bad as everyone thinks they are, but how are you going to do that?" Astrid asked.

"Simple, we all know that the dragons can be tamed, so I'll tame the Monstrous Nightmare, just like I did with every other dragon in Dragon Training." Hiccup answered.

"Okay, but what if something. . .goes wrong, like the Nightmare gets spooked, and besides, Vikings don't like surprises, and that includes your dad too." Astrid replied.

Hiccup had to admit Astrid did have a good point, but the tribe needed to learn about what he discovered about dragons through Toothless, and he couldn't kill the Nightmare either. This meant that Hiccup had to formulate a whole new plan, much to his chagrin, but he still thought the added logic from Astrid really helped, so now, he didn't have to do everything on his own anymore. Hiccup took a moment to think of a new plan, but unfortunately to his dismay, he wasn't able to come up with anything, then he turned to notice that Rapunzel had one of her hands raised above her head.

"You know, Hiccup, maybe you don't have to show the entire village at once, you could just start with one person, and that person can be your dad." Rapunzel suggested.

A smile suddenly appeared on Hiccup and Astrid's faces as their eyes widened at the exact same time, since both of them were impressed by the idea Rapunzel told them.

"That's actually a great idea, Rapunzel, so I'll have to wake him up very early in the morning, but I just hope that he won't get too angry I did that." Hiccup answered.

"I seriously doubt that, Hiccup. Your dad's probably so proud of you right now, he won't even bother to be mad about you interrupting his sleep tomorrow." Astrid said.

"If my dad's so proud of me, chances are he'll be against my final exam being private, he'd want the entire village to see how good I am with dragons." Hiccup replied.

"You could just say that you didn't want anybody to get hurt by the Nightmare or worse, since what you're going to do in the Kill Ring will be dangerous." Astrid advised.

"Yeah, that's true. . ." Hiccup agreed, as he hoped that the Nightmare wouldn't get spooked, and preferred not to think about what would happen if the Nightmare did.

"Okay, so let's say that the Nightmare never gets spooked, and you successfully tame it in front of your dad. What would happen after that, Hiccup?" Rapunzel inquired.

Hiccup took a moment to think about that, and he knew that his father wouldn't just instantly trust dragons, especially after spending practically a lifetime fighting them.

"My dad deserves to know the truth, so I'll tell him everything, and by that, I mean everything I've learned about dragons over the past few weeks." Hiccup answered.

Hiccup didn't think his father would believe him so easily, which is why he wanted Astrid to be present, since she was with him when they saw that monster in the nest.

"Astrid, you know why the dragons always steal our food, so you wouldn't mind being there with me when I tell my father everything after the exam?" Hiccup requested.

"I don't mind, Hiccup, but like it or not, you're going to have to tell your father about Toothless, but it doesn't mean you have to show him Toothless." Astrid informed.

Hiccup didn't trust the Vikings from their unbiased treatment toward dragons, but he knew his father would want to know exactly how he learned so much about them.

"You're right, Astrid, but I'm going to show Toothless to my dad, just not so soon, and only after I've proven that all the dragons in the ring can be tamed." Hiccup said.

"So after you've done that, Hiccup, then what? Will you be giving lessons to all the Vikings on how they can be able to ride a dragon for themselves?" Rapunzel asked.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do, Rapunzel," Hiccup replied, before a smile eventually appeared onto his face. "Thanks for giving me the idea too." He added kindly.

Rapunzel quickly smiled back at Hiccup as she felt glad that she was already helping him out, and she became more certain that she would enjoy staying in his village. She was also quite happy from not just Hiccup and Astrid helping her to blend in with the Vikings, but from the fact she'd be staying with Hiccup for the next few weeks. The reason why Rapunzel was so happy about this is because her and Hiccup would actually get to spend time together instead of write letters while being an ocean away.

Rapunzel was definitely going to make the most out of her time in Hiccup's village, such as meet as many people as she can, especially Hiccup's fellow students from dragon training. She really hoped they were all just as nice as Astrid, even though Rapunzel knew that she didn't spend much time with the other teens besides the exams they had in dragon training. Since everybody in Berk was going to be told that Rapunzel had been found washed up on a beach after escaping her abusive mother, then it was likely that Rapunzel would receive a lot of nice treatment.

"Many of the villagers will definitely be against the idea at first, so that's why I'll start with those who are willing to believe me after I show them all." Hiccup informed.

"You mean after you've shown to the villagers that the dragons aren't dangerous and they can be tamed?" Rapunzel inquired, and Hiccup gave his answer with a nod.

"Now I know that I'll be getting a makeover to look more like a Viking with new clothes and my hair braided, but when is this going to happen exactly?" Rapunzel asked.

"After I've taken you to my house, and when your makeover's all done, you'll go with Hiccup over to his house, since that's where you'll be staying." Astrid answered.

"Yes, Astrid should have something that fits you, Rapunzel, and it probably won't take too long for her to also braid your hair, despite how long it is." Hiccup predicted.

Hearing this caused Astrid to look down and glance at all the hair that Rapunzel was carrying in her arms, and Astrid really hoped Hiccup was right about what he said. Even though there was a part of her that wanted to ask Rapunzel why her mother's never given her a haircut, Astrid had decided to save that question for another time. With her and Rapunzel helping Hiccup to prove to their village that dragons aren't dangerous creatures, Astrid wondered if there would ever be a good time to ask her.

"Hey, guys, isn't that your village up there?" Rapunzel inquired, as she pointed to something in the distance, while Astrid and Hiccup turned their heads to see it too.

Both of the Viking teens let out a huge sigh of relief in unison to know that it was indeed Berk that Rapunzel had pointed at, which meant their walk was almost over.

"Yes, Zel, that's our village." Astrid replied, calling Rapunzel by her Viking name before she walked a few steps ahead of her fellow Berkian and the long-haired woman.

"I should lead the way since we'll be going to my house first so Zel can have her makeover." Astrid suggested, and both Hiccup and Rapunzel nodded in agreement.

They stayed close behind Astrid as the three of them eventually made it out of the forest and into the village, which Rapunzel didn't hesitate to get a good look at.

"Wow, Hiccup, your village looks very nice, and I really do mean that." Rapunzel complimented kindly, as she stared at each of the houses that surrounded her.

"Thanks, Rapunzel, and I'll have you know that every single house here is newly built, and it's usually because of the frequent dragon raids." Hiccup revealed.

"Let's just hope that none of these houses have to be rebuilt again, and your father does agree to let you give riding lessons to the villagers." Astrid suggested.

Hiccup was able to tell that Astrid sounded a little worried as she said all of that, but he decided not to reassure her, since she would just say that she was fine. He could understand why Astrid would even be worried; she was taking a huge risk to her reputation and village standing in getting behind Hiccup with his plan. Not only that, but Astrid was also letting go of Viking tradition and putting everything that she believed in and has worked towards in jeopardy for a leap of faith. Obviously, this had to be such a big deal for her, so Hiccup would make sure to thank Astrid for all the help that she'll be giving him over the next several weeks.

"Hey, Astrid, since it's the middle of the night, aren't your parents going to be at home sleeping?" Rapunzel inquired, and this caused Astrid to stop and turn around.

"They're probably at the Great Hall with Hiccup's dad and the rest of the villagers, since they still believe that Hiccup's going to kill a dragon tomorrow." Astrid replied.

"You might be right about that, Astrid, look," Hiccup said, as he pointed to where the Great Hall was. "You can see light coming out through those doors." He added.

"Good, so that means there will be plenty of time for Zel to have her makeover at my house and go with you to your house without getting caught." Astrid responded.

"If you don't mind me asking, Astrid, what would be so wrong if we got caught now?" Rapunzel asked, since she really wanted to know the answer for that question.

"None of the villagers are going to believe that you're a Viking if they see you in that dress, because not one woman on Berk has a dress like that." Astrid explained.

"I'm guessing that means I can't leave this dress hidden somewhere and get to put it back on for when I return home after I've helped you guys?" Rapunzel inquired.

Rapunzel had been hoping for Astrid or even Hiccup to shake their head and disagree, but to the girl's disappointment, she saw the two of them both nod their head.

"I know that you want to keep the dress, Rapunzel, but I'm afraid that you have to get rid of it, and so the best way for you to do that is to burn it." Hiccup advised.

Rapunzel decided there was no point in arguing with Hiccup and Astrid about it, since she didn't want any of the villagers to become suspicious while she was here.

"Okay, Hiccup, after I've put on my Viking outfit in Astrid's house, I'll burn this dress, considering I'm not going to be wearing it for much longer." Rapunzel informed.

Instead of saying a word, Hiccup nodded his head, and although he was glad that Rapunzel didn't try to start an argument, he could definitely tell that she was upset. Even though there weren't any tears welling up in Rapunzel's eyes, Hiccup was able to know how the girl was feeling just from the frown that was currently on her face. Hiccup thought it was necessary to take a bit of time and comfort Rapunzel, since he refused to believe this couldn't have been such a easy decision for her to make.

"Hey, Rapunzel," Hiccup said, as he gently put a hand on the girl's shoulder, which caused her to look back at him. "I know you don't want to get rid of your dress-"

"It's okay, Hiccup, I've had this dress for a long time, many years actually, so I really do think it's about time for me to wear something new." Rapunzel responded.

As much as Hiccup wanted to say more to Rapunzel, he believed that she said enough to convince him she was okay, especially when she gave him a slight smile.

"Uhh...guys, I don't mean to ruin the moment or anything, but we still have to get to my house, and you shouldn't worry, we're almost there." Astrid reminded.

For the next few minutes, Rapunzel and Hiccup stayed close behind Astrid as they followed her through the village until they finally arrived at the Viking girl's house.

"Mom? Dad? Are you in there?" Astrid asked before knocking loudly on the door a few times, and when she got no answer, Astrid knew her parents weren't inside.

Astrid didn't need to worry about accidentally hurting Rapunzel with her axe, since she already had it secured to her back to give herself a break from holding it.

"Good, they're not here, but we have to get this done," Astrid said before taking Rapunzel by the hand. "Hiccup, you stay out here until Zel comes out." She added.

"Yes, Astrid." Hiccup replied, and just as her name had left his mouth, Astrid opened the front door with her other hand, brought Rapunzel inside and closed the door.

Since he was sure that it would be a while until he saw Rapunzel again, Hiccup decided to run back to his own house and know for sure that his father wasn't inside. After the boy started running from Astrid's house, Hiccup quickly glanced to see if anyone was coming out of the Great Hall, but he saw that the doors still remained closed. Hiccup sighed in relief as he continued to run to his house, which he managed to reach in practically no time at all, and he quickly opened the front door and went inside.

"Dad? Are you here?" Hiccup asked as loud as possible, and the boy could tell his father wasn't home when he didn't hear the man speak or see him come downstairs.

Now that it was confirmed his only family wasn't at home, Hiccup made his way back to the front door of Astrid's house, where he took a few deep breaths to relax. Once he was done with that, Hiccup started to think that he shouldn't stand so close to the front door, since he didn't want Rapunzel to bump into him and get hurt. With that in mind, Hiccup went down to the bottom of the stairs that led to Astrid's house, and that's where he decided to wait for Rapunzel until she finally came out. After what felt like many long hours, but was really just several minutes, Hiccup sat down on the stairs so he could give his legs a break from standing on the ground. Just when he let out a big yawn, Hiccup heard the front door suddenly open behind him, and he wasted no time in getting back up on his feet and turning around to face whoever came out of the house.

Hiccup's eyes widened and his mouth went agape as he got a good look at Rapunzel, and he could've actually mistaken the girl for a Viking who lived in his village. The girl was now wearing a pale purple dress, simple with long sleeves and it fell down just after her knees. Both of Rapunzel's legs were also covered with thin cloth to keep them warm, and her feet were in a pair of fur boots. A leather corset was laced around her front, extenuating her small waist and hips. Finally, all of Rapunzel's magnificently long hair was elegantly braided down her back, with the end of the braid well above her ankles.

"So, Hiccup, what do you think?" Rapunzel inquired as she gave a cute twirl before facing the Viking again, since she wanted to know what he thought of her new look.

"I think you look like a true Berkian." Hiccup answered happily as he walked closer to Rapunzel. "I should definitely thank Astrid for doing all of this for you." He added.

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow to do that, Hiccup, because she's gone to sleep, and she must have gotten tired from braiding all of my hair." Rapunzel responded.

"It's probably because Astrid's been through a lot today, what with finding out I have a dragon for a best friend, going on a flight with me and Toothless, discovering the dragons' nest and an enormous dragon inside of it, deciding to keep the nest a secret, meeting you, and finally, giving you a makeover." Hiccup explained.

"On second thought, Hiccup, that makes a lot more sense," Rapunzel said before giggling for a moment. "So shouldn't we head over to your house now?" She asked.

"Yes, Zel, we should," Hiccup replied, calling Rapunzel by her Berkian name, then he led the way through the village until the two of them had arrived at his house.

"If you've thought Astrid's home was nice, Zel, just wait until you see mine, which is larger than all the others because my dad's the chief and all." Hiccup revealed.

Hearing this made Rapunzel feel a lot more excited to see the inside of Hiccup's house, not that she didn't like the inside of Astrid's house, because she really did. Rapunzel didn't hesitate to enter Hiccup's home after he opened the front door and gestured for her to go inside first, which Rapunzel thought was very nice of him. Just like she did with Astrid's house, Rapunzel took some time to look around and ignored the fact it was a little too dark for her to see much of anything right now.

"What's behind there, Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked while pointing to a curtain, and she waited until Hiccup was standing next to her before bringing her finger down.

"My dad's bedroom, Zel, and it's also where the back door is," Hiccup answered, then turned to face the girl. "It's come in handy for me so many times." He added.

"How so?" Rapunzel inquired curiously, since she was now very interested to know why Hiccup's used the back door frequently. "You can just tell me one reason."

"The last time I used it was after I won the right to kill a dragon, and at the time, I was ready to run away from Berk and meet you much earlier." Hiccup replied.

"Before you say anything, Hiccup, you don't need to apologize again for being late, you're already forgiven, so your bedroom must be upstairs?" Rapunzel guessed.

"Yes, Zel, and I'm going to show you right now." Hiccup said before walking around the fire pit to the bottom of the staircase. "Please watch your step." He advised.

Rapunzel did exactly what Hiccup said as she carefully followed him up the stairs, and once she was now in the boy's bedroom, Hiccup turned around to face her.

"You must be pretty tired if you stayed up waiting for me, so I'll let you get some sleep, but if you need anything at all, I'll just be downstairs." Hiccup informed.

"Wait, Hiccup," Rapunzel said, as she stopped him from leaving by gently grabbing his hand. "If I'm taking the bed, where are you going to sleep?" She asked.

"I'll be sleeping downstairs, next to the fire pit, but you don't need to worry about me getting too cold because I'm going to start a fire first." Hiccup answered.

"I really don't want you sleeping like that, Hiccup, especially if it's going to be for the next few weeks, so why don't we just share the bed?" Rapunzel suggested.

For the second time tonight, Hiccup's eyes widened and his mouth went agape, and there was a reason why the boy was surprised from what Rapunzel just said. Never in his whole life did Hiccup think that he'd get to share his bed with a girl, not even Astrid, since he always believed it would keep happening in his dreams. As much as Hiccup wanted to go ahead and take the opportunity, he thought it wasn't right do that without asking Rapunzel first if she was really okay with that.

"Are you sure Zel, like you're not worried if I try to hog the blanket from you or push you off the bed, not that I'll do either of those things." Hiccup said genuinely.

"Yes, Hiccup, I'm sure, and this way, we'll both get a good night's sleep, and we'll be there for each other if either one of us has a nightmare." Rapunzel persuaded.

Hiccup had to admit Rapunzel did have a good point there, and neither of them would have to worry about one another if they weren't sleeping all by themselves.

"Okay, Zel, let's share the bed," Hiccup agreed before he quickly walked over to one side of the bed and pulled back the blanket. "I'll let you get in first." He added.

"Thank you, Hiccup." Rapunzel replied gratefully, and since she was always barefoot when she slept, Rapunzel took off her fur boots before getting into Hiccup's bed.

Hiccup kept his fur boots on because he usually preferred to keep his feet warm while he was sleeping, and he went to the other side of his bed and joined Rapunzel.

"Goodnight, Zel." Hiccup whispered as he lay his head on at least one half of the pillow, since Rapunzel was already resting her blonde head on the other half of it.

"Goodnight, Hiccup." Rapunzel responded, and then she slowly closed her eyes shut while Hiccup did the same as her, but not before he did just one more thing.

With him being so close to Rapunzel at the moment, Hiccup couldn't resist smelling the girl's newly braided hair, mostly because he never had the chance earlier. Hiccup only wished that Rapunzel wouldn't mind him doing it, and he thought it was a rather nice perk of them sharing the same bed for the next several weeks. Although he was still glad that Astrid had gotten along with Rapunzel, Hiccup hoped it would be the same with his dad, the rest of the teens, and the entire village, so he kept his mind focused on that until he finally fell asleep.


	18. The Early Final Exam

Hiccup couldn't resist letting a smile appear on his face as he slowly started to wake up, and there were a few reasons why he felt happy instead of scared and nervous. Not only did he have Astrid's full support in his plan to reveal the truth about dragons to their entire village, but the girl he'd been writing letters to for many weeks was right here in the flesh. Even though Hiccup enjoyed doing it, a part of him felt a little relieved that he didn't have to go all the way through the forest and into the cove just to send her a letter.

From the moment he read her first letter, Hiccup could tell that Rapunzel was a curious girl, but now that he's finally met her, he knew there was so much more to her. Rapunzel was very understanding, as she didn't mind wearing new clothes and having a new identity, not to mention kind, since she'd gotten along well with Astrid too. If one of the toughest Vikings on this jagged hunk of rock Hiccup called home could be friendly toward Rapunzel, then he was sure it'd be the same with everyone else.

Hiccup felt deeply grateful that Rapunzel didn't have a problem sharing his bed, even though he would've been just fine having a blanket while lying in front of the fire. The boy suddenly blushed as he thought Rapunzel still looked beautiful, now that all of her hair was braided and she wore a new dress and her very own pair of fur boots. Despite what Rapunzel had told him last night, Hiccup still felt a little awful for convincing her to get rid of her old dress, considering she'd been wearing it for many years.

Hiccup knew that if tried to apologize, then Rapunzel would give him a smile and tell him that he didn't need to give an apology and it was her choice to get rid of the dress. All of a sudden, Hiccup's eyes widened as he remembered that he was supposed to wake up his father early enough so that he could give him a private Nightmare viewing. With his eyes now wide open, Hiccup did his very best not to make a sound that could possibly wake up Rapunzel as he pulled the blanket off his body and got out of bed.

Hiccup slowly walked out of his bedroom and down the stairs, but not before turning around and taking a quick glance to see if Rapunzel was still sleeping, which she was. A frown soon started to form with Hiccup's lips as he was able to notice that his father currently had a smile on his face, but Hiccup knew that it was either now or never. Hiccup knew his father would be angry, but he hoped that he'd eventually be happy with his son for not just telling him the truth, but for not putting anyone's life in danger.

The chief's snoring only became much louder as Hiccup walked closer to the man's bed, and Hiccup instantly took a deep breath before patting his father on the shoulder. When Stoick didn't stir and kept on snoring, Hiccup patted his shoulder a little harder, but when it still didn't work, Hiccup knew there was only one way to wake him up. This plan didn't actually involve touching his father or any part of his bed for that matter, but Hiccup could only pray to the gods that he wouldn't up Rapunzel in the process.

"Dad!" Hiccup shouted loudly, and he also said the name as fast as possible, even though he believed that Rapunzel wouldn't hear him, since she was up in the second floor.

To the boy's relief, Stoick's snores stopped completely as he woke up while propelling himself into an upright position in his bed, and the chief quickly turned to face his son.

"Hiccup! Are you alright, son?" Stoick asked concernedly, and the man started to become confused when he noticed that Hiccup didn't look scared but only a little nervous.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm okay, and sorry for waking you up so early, but I was hoping if we could go to the arena so I can show you my skills with the Nightmare." Hiccup requested.

"We'll be there in a few hours, Hiccup, so that the entire village can get to see you, because everyone's been looking forward to it just as much as I have." Stoick responded.

"I know, Dad, but I really want to show you right now. Just you. Besides, I don't think the villagers will mind so much if I show their chief first. Please, Dad?" Hiccup begged.

Stoick was about to shake his head and refuse when he noticed that Hiccup now had his head down while titled a little sideways, but he still looked up at him with wide eyes. The chief recalled seeing his son make this exact same face many times when he was younger, like if Hiccup wanted to hear a bedtime story or go with him on a fishing trip. Stoick didn't believe that there was one time that he said no to Hiccup after he made that face, and fortunately for the boy, Stoick didn't feel like turning him down this time.

"Alright, son, let's go to the Kill Ring," Stoick answered to Hiccup's delight before holding up a hand. "Just leave me to get changed first and then we can go there." He added.

"Sounds great, Dad," Hiccup said happily, then walked over to the bottom of the staircase that led to his bedroom. "You can just call my name and I'll be right back down."

After seeing his father nod his head in agreement, Hiccup quickly went up the stairs to check and see if their conservation didn't inadvertently manage to wake up Rapunzel. To the boy's utter relief and surprise, Rapunzel still slept peacefully in his bed, so she must have been pretty tired from waiting for him to show up at her tower last night. Hiccup wanted to tell Rapunzel that he'd be gone for a while because of the exam, but at the same time, he didn't want to stop her from getting as much rest as possible.

He decided it would be better to just leave Rapunzel a note, so that way, Hiccup didn't have to wake her up, and once she did, she wouldn't worry about where Hiccup was. Luckily for Hiccup, it didn't take him too long to find a charcoal pencil, as well as a sheet of parchment paper to use for the note since there was enough light in his room. Hiccup kept quiet as much as possible as he walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair before putting the sheet of parchment paper on his desk and started writing.

It usually took his father a while to get dressed, so Hiccup didn't bother rushing through the note and simply took his time writing it, and it helped not hearing his father yet. All of a sudden, Hiccup stopped writing when he started to realize that Rapunzel wouldn't just stay here and wait for him in his house after she woke up and read his note. Rapunzel wouldn't only want to go out and enjoy the fresh air, she'd definitely want to meet all the villagers, and it'd make sense for her to be well acquainted with them.

Even though the entire village would come together at the Kill Ring in just a few hours, it was meant to only watch Hiccup's final exam and not get to know someone new. Rapunzel had already waited many hours for Hiccup to show up last night, so he didn't think that she'd be able to wait a few more hours until his public final exam was over. When Hiccup returned to finish the note, he made sure to include a reminder for Rapunzel to stick with the story they came up with for when anybody asked her who she was.

"Hiccup, I'm all changed, so we can go now." Stoick shouted, and hearing his father's voice caused Hiccup to feel jolted, since he'd been so focused on Rapunzel's note.

"Okay, Dad, I'll be down there right away." Hiccup replied, then he quickly turned to check if Rapunzel hasn't woken up, and he sighed in relief to see she was still asleep.

Luckily for Hiccup, he had managed to complete the note just before his father called his name, so before leaving his room, Hiccup left the note for Rapunzel on his desk.

"Are you ready, son?" Stoick asked, but he waited until Hiccup stood at the bottom of the stairs and before asking that question, which Hiccup answered by giving a nod.

Instead of saying a word, the chief smiled at his son before opening up the front door, and once Hiccup went outside, Stoick did the same and closed the door behind him. Not long after they started heading for the Kill Ring, Hiccup suddenly felt a hand come on his shoulder, and he looked up to see that his father had a proud look on his face. Hiccup thought he should definitely tell his father about "Zel" before they made it to the arena, but he held off on doing that until they were a good distance away from their house.

"Hey, Dad?" Hiccup said, and he waited until his father was looking at him before speaking again. "There's something that I have to tell you, and it's important." He added.

Stoick could tell from the tone in his son's voice that he was very serious, so the chief stopped right where he was and turned to face Hiccup so the boy had his full attention.

"What is it, son?" Stoick asked, as he now felt sure that Hiccup's private exam could be delayed for a few minutes, since he wasn't really in a rush to get to the Kill Ring.

"Last night, I was taking a walk on the beach, since I just wanted some time to myself, when all of a sudden, I saw something by the shoreline. I squinted my eyes to get a better look, but I still couldn't make it out. When I walked closer to the shoreline, I saw that it was actually a girl, and I quickly ran to see if she was still breathing by checking for a heartbeat, which she did, so I figured that she must have been asleep for a while. I almost felt like picking up the girl and carrying her back to the village when I thought it was better to wake her up and get to know who she was first before bringing her here.

I put a hand on the girl's shoulder and shook it until the girl slowly opened her eyes and I quickly stepped back to give her space and so she wouldn't panic when she saw me. I wasn't surprised that the girl asked me who I was and also wanted to know where she was too, and I answered both of those questions while helping her get on her feet. I asked the girl who she was and how did she end up on Berk's beach, and she told me her name was Zel, and she had been shipwrecked after escaping from her mother.

Zel explained that the reason why she left home is because her mother was cruel and emotionally abusive, as she'd constantly insult Zel and lower her self-esteem all the time. She couldn't take it anymore, so one night, when her mother was asleep, Zel got a boat, a few oars, and set out to sea, and obviously, she didn't leave a letter saying goodbye. Zel had been sailing for several hours until her boat suddenly crashed into jagged rocks, and even though she panicked a little, she knew it meant she had to swim at that point.

Eventually, Zel's arms got very tired and she soon passed out, just as the waves had gotten much stronger, and they carried Zel all the way to the shore of our beach. After we started walking back to the village, I told Zel that she could stay in my bedroom, since I thought you wouldn't mind her staying with us, and I'd be fine with sleeping by the fireplace. Once we finally made it to our house and saw that you weren't home, I wanted to take Zel to the Great Hall so that you'd know about her right away, but Zel told me that she was really tired.

I knew that Zel still felt cold from the sea because she kept rubbing her arms, so I made a fire to warm her up and I also asked her if she wanted something to eat or drink, but she kindly refused. Zel did ask me if the two of us could share my bed, and I was about to turn down her offer and insist that she should have the bed when Zel told me that she's had a lot of nightmares in the past. Zel really thought that she wouldn't have any more nightmares if someone was nearby while she slept, so I agreed to share the bed with her, and she's still sleeping in my bed at this very moment." Hiccup explained.

When Stoick didn't respond right away, Hiccup figured his father just needed a moment to take it all in, so Hiccup took a deep breath, since he'd been talking for a long time. Hiccup really hoped that Stoick would believe his story, because if he didn't, then everything he said would've been all for naught, but his father knew that he was serious. The boy had expected Stoick to say something to him, so Hiccup was clearly taken by surprise when his father smiled before enveloping him in a breath-quenching hug.

"Well done, son! Not only do you become the most promising dragon slayer while I'm away, but you also go and do the right thing by giving shelter to a lass." Stoick boasted.

After the chief released his son from the hug, Hiccup clutched his stomach as he took a few deep breaths, and also heaved a sigh of relief that his father believed every word.

"I'm sorry for not telling you this sooner, Dad, but I thought it'd be better if the two of us weren't inside our house so that we wouldn't wake up Zel by accident." Hiccup said.

"If I'd known that she was in your room, then I would've been more quiet, but thank you for telling me, son, so do you think she'll be up for your public exam?" Stoick asked.

"I did leave a note telling her where I'd be right now, but I don't think she knows the way to the arena, since I only brought her through the village last night." Hiccup replied.

"No problem, Hiccup, we can just head back to the house after you've shown me the skills you've learned, and besides, I wouldn't want Zel to miss it either." Stoick informed.

Instead of saying something, Hiccup smiled and gave a nod to show his father that he was pleased with that idea, and so they returned to making their way to the Kill Ring.

"We'll also get your helmet in the house, since I know it'd make your mother proud that you were wearing it as you kill a dragon in front of the entire village." Stoick said.

Hiccup hoped that if nothing went wrong with his private exam this morning, then his public exam would be just fine, and nobody would end up getting hurt in the process. There were so many things that could go wrong, and Hiccup started to have an uneasy feeling in his stomach as a frown appeared on his face as he thought about them all. Hiccup being killed, Toothless being discovered and then killed, Hiccup calming the Nightmare but being banished from Berk, and finally, both Hiccup and Toothless being killed.

Hopefully, none of those scenarios would be a possibility if Stoick had an open mind and listened to his son, and also if the Nightmare didn't become spooked in the public exam. Hiccup didn't want his father to look at him and ask if something was wrong, so the boy tried to think of something more positive, and luckily, he did come up with something. Actually, it was more like someone, as Hiccup wondered if Rapunzel's reaction to seeing the dragons in the Kill Ring would be the same as when she saw Toothless for the first time.

Hiccup felt absolutely certain that Rapunzel's reaction wouldn't be any different, especially because Rapunzel already knew that dragons weren't dangerous creatures like he'd believed for so long. Part of him wished that he had woken up Rapunzel, sneaked out of his house with her, and they went to the cove to visit Toothless once more, since Hiccup wasn't exactly sure of when they'd get a chance to spend time together. Obviously, the Night Fury must be feeling quite lonely all by himself in that cove right now, but what really concerned Hiccup is whether or not the dragon would suffer from starvation if he didn't return to him with a basket of fish.

Hiccup started wondering if his father would actually allow Toothless to stay with them in their house, because if Stoick did that, then Hiccup wouldn't have to keep on making trips through the forest, into the cove, and back home. Hiccup still wasn't quite ready to reveal Toothless, but he'd probably get the confidence after his practical knowledge of the dragons was put on display to the village and each of those dragons in the Kill Ring was proven to be tamable. Hiccup really hoped all of that would get to happen just for today, and then either later today, or tomorrow, Rapunzel could help him out with carrying out the dragon riding lessons.

"We're here, son." Stoick announced, and Hiccup raised his head to notice that they've finally arrived at the arena, which meant all of those thoughts helped pass the time.

Hiccup looked around to see that the grounds had been completely transformed, as poles featuring flags and banners surrounded the Kill Ring and flapped in the early dawn.

"We set up all of this after your exam yesterday, since I figured they should be out for an event like this, so I hope you don't mind seeing them this early." Stoick revealed.

"No, Dad, I don't mind at all; I really appreciate that you took the time to do all of this for me, and I know that my final exam means so much to you, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course it does, Hiccup, it's your initiation ceremony, which is why I'm going to make a speech to the crowd before it begins, and I'm sure you'll love it." Stoick answered.

Knowing that his father would give a speech to the village only made Hiccup feel more anxious inside, but he did his best to keep a straight face and not let Stoick find out.

"I can't wait to hear it!" Hiccup replied, while trying to sound cheerful, but he probably failed since he didn't really make much of a effort, and came off sounding sarcastic.

"I'd say it to you right now, but I think it's better to wait until all of Berk is here watching, so that way, you'll get to hear all the villagers cheering you on." Stoick informed.

"Well, Dad, that's a great idea," Hiccup responded before giving a smile that he hoped didn't look fake. "Anyway, I think we should start the exam right now." He reminded.

"Yes, we should, so head down to the gate and I'll get to my seat," Stoick instructed, and he took a few steps before stopping. "Wait, I think the gate's shut, so I'll open it."

"Okay, thanks, Dad." Hiccup said, and he followed his father as they walked over to the grated doorway leading to the ring interior, and Stoick was able to easily get it open.

After he'd done that, Stoick went down to the inner gate and opened it completely for Hiccup, who looked at his father and gave a half-smile before entering the Kill Ring.

"Hiccup, one more thing," Stoick said, and he waited until his son was facing him before speaking again. "I hope you understand this gate needs to be closed." He added.

"Don't worry, Dad, I understand, and besides, we wouldn't want the Nightmare to escape this arena and possibly wake up the entire village with an attack." Hiccup replied.

"That's my boy." Stoick said proudly just before he closed the inner gate, separating him from his son, then he walked out the grated doorway before closing that as well.

Hiccup decided to wait until his father was in his sight before he walked over to the weapons rack, which he remembered using as cover during his very first training session. This selection of weapons must have been arranged for him just yesterday, and it contained all the weapons that any Viking would desire to use that could kill a dragon. Hiccup took only two things from the arsenal, a shield to look practical and to protect himself if things went wrong, and a small dagger, which was almost identical to the one that he had almost killed Toothless with.

"Hrmph. I would've gone for the hammer." Stoick muttered, as he didn't think a dagger was really the right choice, but the chief was now curious to see if it would work.

Once he'd hoisted the shield onto his forearm and held the dagger's hilt tightly in his right hand, Hiccup took a deep breath before turning to face a bolted and heavy door.

"I'm ready." Hiccup made sure to say this loud enough for his father to hear him, and Stoick started to turn a crank which led to the bolts of the doors to be lifted slowly.

Suddenly, the doors blasted open with a stream of sticky fire, followed by a Monstrous Nightmare covered with battle scars while coated in flames, and it looked furious. After this happened, Stoick quickly went over to sit down on a large stone chair, while the Nightmare's flames subsided as it climbed the arena's walls and chain enclosure like a bat. It wasn't long before the Nightmare finally spotted Hiccup, who stared right back at the dragon wide-eyed, and the Nightmare quickly descended to the floor of the arena. The Nightmare continued to leer at Hiccup as it slowly advanced towards him, while Hiccup took a few steps back before eventually dropping his dagger and shield.

"What is he doing?" Stoick said with a mix of concern and confusion in his voice, as he wondered why would his son relinquish his weapon and defense in front of a dragon.

Hiccup kept his attention focused on the Nightmare as he raised the palms of his hands up to begin calming the dragon which had just begun to lower its aggressive stance.

"It's okay. It's okay." Hiccup whispered in a soothing voice, and he could easily notice that the Nightmare started to become docile as the dragon's eyes were now dilating.

Hiccup was sure that if he'd been wearing his mother's helmet right now, then the Nightmare would probably still be snorting at him, so Hiccup felt glad he left it at home.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Hiccup said softly as he kept his palms over the Nightmare's snout while the dragon no longer seemed to feel angry or even threatened at all.

The Nightmare was even beginning to sniff Hiccup's hand as the distance between the dragon and the boy's hand started to close, and Hiccup quickly looked up at his father. Hiccup was surprised that Stoick hadn't gotten up from his chair, but he knew this wasn't what his father had been expecting, since he looked both confused and worried. The boy brought his attention back to the Nightmare as he slowly extended a hand towards it, and his hand drew nearer and nearer, closer and closer, until finally. . .he touched it.

As Hiccup rested his hand on the Nightmare's face between its eyes, the great beast's eyes softened, and it tilted its head one side, before eventually closing its eyes shut. Once the Nightmare had done this, the dragon began to make what seemed to be a purring noise; a deep, soothing, rhythmical humming, which Toothless made as well. Hiccup now moved to stand beside the Nightmare, gently stroking the beast's head with his hand, as the dragon slumped to the ground, now being as peaceful as possible.

The boy quickly looked up to glance at his father, and he could see that Stoick still hasn't moved from his chair, but the expression on the chief's face remained the same. Hiccup returned to focusing on the Nightmare in the arena as he knelt down beside the dragon's head, and softly scratched its scaly hide as the beast purred contentedly. All of a sudden, Hiccup did another thing that Stoick didn't expect, as he whispered something into the dragon's ear before getting back to his feet, while his hand still rested on the Nightmare's brow.

Hiccup drew the dragon's curious eyes with him as he walked over to the open metal doors of the beast's cage, and just smiled as the Nightmare waddled drunkenly back into its abode, settling itself on the floor of its den, still purring contentedly. Taking care to quietly close and lock the doors, Hiccup then walked back out into the center of the arena, and he brought his head up to face his father, who didn't look even remotely affected from what just took place in the past several minutes. Suddenly, the chief stood up abruptly while still staring down at Hiccup in the Kill Ring, and for a moment, Stoick did nothing but glare at his son with clenched fists and stony eyes.

This didn't really surprise Hiccup, since he hadn't expected to be given any sort of warm response right away, but he still hoped that Stoick would give him a chance to explain things. After what felt like hours, but was really just minutes, Stoick let out a heavy breath before slowly making his way over to the grated doorway, but still kept looking at Hiccup. Hiccup decided that since there was no point for him to be standing right in the middle of the Kill Ring, he walked over to the inner gate and waited for his father to arrive. The boy couldn't help but gulp when Stoick finally came and opened up the grated doorway with one hand, then he went closer to the inner gate before opening it up too.

"Speak, now." Stoick ordered, and Hiccup quickly felt relieved to know that his father was willing to listen to him, even though the chief must be quite angry right now.

"I've discovered that dragons aren't evil, vicious, soulless killers that everybody thinks they are, and the truth is they're kind, intelligent, loving, and naturally gentle creatures who deserve to be treated with respect and as equals." Hiccup revealed.

Stoick didn't want to believe it, and he thought what his son just said was so unbelievable that he was ready to storm out, but he was shown evidence not so long ago.

"I know that the dragons have killed like hundreds of us by now, but we've killed probably thousands of them, and they don't even want to attack us." Hiccup claimed.

Right after hearing that, Stoick changed his mind about listening to Hiccup and decided that he'd heard enough and he turned around to head out of the grated doorway.

"Astrid believes me, Dad," Hiccup said, and fortunately, this caused his father to stop in his tracks and face him again. "She can help me explain the truth." He added.

When the chief didn't respond right away, Hiccup started wondering if Stoick would just turn around once more and leave, but instead, the man finally said something.

"We'd better get back to Berk and find her, right?" Stoick asked, before turning around to make his exit from the arena, while Hiccup quickly let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Even though he knew his father must still be angry and skeptical with him, Hiccup really believed that Stoick thought what he'd achieved was something truly profound. There's no denying that Stoick had just seen the most docile Nightmare in his life during that exam, so Hiccup felt glad he was given another chance to prove his claims. Hiccup hoped that Astrid was already awake and waiting for them at the Great Hall, because that way, him and his father wouldn't have to risk waking up her parents.

He figured that once they met up with Astrid, they'd have a long talk about dragons with Stoick, and he'd also admit to everything he's learned over the past few weeks. Maybe after he was given an explanation, the chief would believe that here's another way to end the war and be open to letting the villagers learn how to ride dragons. Hiccup still thought he shouldn't build his hopes up too much, but it didn't stop him from having a smile appear on his face and believing that everything would turn out okay.

"Hey, Dad, there's a lot of things I want to tell you, so I was thinking it would be better if we talked in the Great Hall, so we won't wake anybody up." Hiccup requested.

"Yes, that would be better." Stoick replied, and although he didn't look directly at his son while saying this, Hiccup thought it was good that his father was talking to him.

Hiccup and Stoick remained silent for the rest of the walk back to their village, since Hiccup couldn't think of anything to discuss that he'd be telling the chief later today.

"First, I'll tell my dad what I learned about dragons, and I'll tell him why the dragons always steal our food, then I'll tell him about Toothless." Hiccup thought to himself.

Once they finally arrived at Berk, they headed for Astrid's house, since there was still a chance that she had just woken up and was waiting for them outside her home. When they reached her house and saw she wasn't outside, Hiccup returned to hoping that Astrid was at the Great Hall, since her presence would help him feel at ease. Hiccup couldn't resist feeling a little more optimistic when he noticed a figure standing at the top of the stairs, and it obviously looked to be that of a certain Viking girl.

"Hey, Dad, there's Astrid right up there!" Hiccup exclaimed while pointing at the Great Hall's large doors, but the boy made sure not to be too loud as he said all of that.

Hiccup waited on putting his hand down until after his father saw Astrid's figure too, and after the chief had done that, both of them headed for the long flight of stars.

"Good morning, chief." Astrid said, greeting Stoick, but she didn't make any effort to sound enthusiastic, since she was sure that Stoick wasn't so happy at the moment.

"Lass, Hiccup told me there's many things about the dragons he wants to talk about and he said you not only believe him, but you can help him explain." Stoick inquired.

"Yes, chief, this is true, and although what we're going to tell you may sound insane, unbelievable, and complete lies, it will be nothing but the truth." Astrid responded.

Stoick's emotionless face didn't change a bit, though the man did nod to show the teens that he understood, then him, Hiccup, and Astrid all went inside the Great Hall. Astrid knew that her and Hiccup wouldn't be able to have a conversation with the chief if they couldn't see each other, so that's why she had brought a candle with her. She used it in order to find the fire pits, and fortunately, they all still had wood in them, so Astrid lit a fire in each fire pit until there was enough light for them to find a table and sit down.

"Alright, Hiccup, you said there's a lot of things that you wanted to tell me about the dragons right here and now, so I'm listening, go ahead and tell me." Stoick ordered.

Hiccup couldn't help but gulp a little, because although he was glad to have his father's attention for this, Hiccup still felt a lot of pressure about revealing the whole truth.

"When I first started dragon training, I obviously wasn't very good, but once I took the classes more seriously, I learned so much about dragons over the past few weeks. They're horrified by smoked eel, as I used one to frighten the Hideous Zippleback all the way back into its cage, but everyone else thought I was controlling it somehow. They have a spot just under their jaw that they love to have scratched, and if it's pressed just right, it sends them into a kind of trance, and I know this because it worked on the Deadly Nadder.

The dragons go crazy over tall garlic grass, it's kind of like catnip, except for dragons, so I guess it's better to call it 'dragon-nip', and that's why I brought a handful of it to use on the Gronckle. They're entranced by patches of light, and these can be made by using an object with metal, such as a shield or a tool from the forge, and this trick was able to work on the Terrible Terror. I didn't write down any of this, and I stored all of it in my head, which was good enough for me, because I thought nobody else would have been interested anyway, and even if they'd known, then I probably would be called a liar, a fake or both." Hiccup explained.

When his father didn't respond, Hiccup decided to now tell him about the 'queen', as Astrid had called it last night, but he held back on speaking after Stoick raised a hand.

"I'm guessing that you want to put this knowledge on display for the entire village, because if you show them dragons can be tamed, they'll trust the dragons." Stoick said.

"I know it's a bit of a long shot, but if I've already managed to tame the Nightmare in front of you, I'm sure that I could tame the others in the Kill Ring." Hiccup replied.

Stoick knew that the villagers needed to see it for themselves, since Hiccup had no interest in killing a dragon anymore, but there was one thing that he wanted to know.

"Tell me something, Hiccup, how did you manage to learn all these things about the dragons, I mean you couldn't just discover them in dragon training." Stoick inquired.

Hiccup believed that it was time to tell his father about Toothless, and he wouldn't have been able to talk about how he found the dragon's nest without mentioning him.

"Well, Dad, remember a few weeks ago on that night of the dragon raid when I claimed that I had shot down a Night Fury, but nobody believed me?" Hiccup reminded.

The chief nodded as he recalled it was the same night Hiccup caused a hoard of dragons to escape with their livestock, and he'd been too angry to listen to his son later.

"I must have been lucky, because I actually caught the dragon, so once Gobber brought me to our house, I slipped out the back door and headed off to Raven Point. After spending a long time searching through the forest, I finally found the Night Fury still caught in the ropes of my invention, "The Mangler", but when I planted my foot on top of the dragon, that's when I discovered he was still alive. I took out my dagger before slowly walking over to the dragon's belly, and I gathered up more courage by telling myself that I was going to kill this dragon, I would cut out its heart, take it to you and finally prove that I was a Viking.

I held the dagger's hilt with both of my hands and raised the dagger high, but the dragon's breathing suddenly broke my concentration, which caused me to open my eyes and look at the dragon, and I saw that it was staring right back at me. I closed my eyes and shook my head quickly as I lifted my arms again while trying to bring the knife down, then I heard the dragon make a pitiful groan before lowering its head on the ground, and that's when I realized that I couldn't kill this dragon. I knew that if I just turned away and left it there. . .the dragon would still die. Slowly and terribly, probably from starvation, and I couldn't live with myself if that happened either, so I quickly got down and started cutting at the thick ropes.

Once the dragon was finally free of all the ropes, it suddenly pounced on me and pinned me down against a rock, and when I opened my eyes and looked up, I saw that the dragon was giving me an intense stare with his own bright green eyes. I obviously thought that the dragon was going to kill me right then and there, but all I got was a loud, ear-piercing roar right in my face before it turned around and just took off and I kept my eyes on the dragon as it glided through the forest. Me and this dragon did get to meet again, and eventually, I managed to get close enough to form a bond with him, and I decided to name the dragon "Toothless" because of his own retractable teeth.

Toothless actually needed help to fly again because the Mangler had taken off one of his tail-fins when it caught him, so one night, I stayed up working hard in the forge to built him a prosthetic tail, which I gave to him the next day. Our friendship grew stronger as I helped Toothless regain the ability to fly, since the prosthetic tail didn't work perfectly for the first time, but I was still ecstatic to know that my inventions could be used to help someone. I considered Toothless to be not only a best friend to me, but also a living being with feelings because he didn't ever insult me or mock me or make me feel terrible for just being himself, so I decided to learn more about him." Hiccup explained.

Hiccup was actually prepared to continue talking, but when he saw his father raise a hand, the boy just cleared his throat and took a deep breath after talking for so long.

"So that explains how you were able to learn all those things about the other dragons, right?" Stoick asked, and instead of saying a word, his son only nodded his head.

"I have another question." The chief said, and then he suddenly turned his head to face Astrid, who couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous when she saw this happen.

"Hiccup told me earlier that you believe everything he's said about the dragons, so did you find out that he's been spending his time with a Night Fury?" Stoick inquired.

"Yes, I did, chief, and if you don't mind, I'd like to tell you the whole story of how I discovered the Night Fury and also why I chose to believe your son." Astrid requested.

When Stoick didn't respond right away, Astrid simply assumed that he was just taking some time to decide, but when he gave a nod, she knew that his decision was made.

"It all started on that day when Hiccup "frightened" the Zippleback back into its cage, because during the exams before, Hiccup either choose to hide or run away or do both. I didn't think that something was actually going on until I realized that Hiccup would disappear after every exam and he didn't ever explain his absence when he returned. I started to believe that Hiccup had been training with someone, since he wouldn't spend time with anyone here in the village, and he'd usually be gone for the afternoon.

It wasn't until after I was denied the right to kill the Nightmare that I finally managed to follow Hiccup to a small cove that I believe he's been visiting after every session. I wasted no time interrogating Hiccup on his sudden improvements in Dragon Training as well as a vest he wore that he has never shown in public until I heard a noise. After I caught sight of Toothless' figure, I pushed Hiccup to the ground, but before I could attack Toothless with my axe, Hiccup grabbed it and pulled me down with it.

He got Toothless to stop by just telling him that I was a friend, and once I realized that the reason Hiccup beat me in dragon training was because he'd befriended a dragon, I ran off to tell the villagers. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far as I only reached the middle of the forest when I was suddenly snatched up by Toothless and he placed me onto a high tree branch. Hiccup asked for a chance to explain everything to me and I refused to hear any explanation from him, but he did manage to talk me into letting him show me instead.

Even though Hiccup told Toothless to gently land, the Night Fury decided to scare me instead by flying fast while making a lot of daring flying maneuvers until I finally apologized. It seemed like that's what Toothless really wanted to hear as he stopped his acrobatics and took the two of us on a more calm and relaxing flight above the clouds and Berk. I became more comfortable with Hiccup as I rested my head on his shoulder, and obviously, I was amazed by the flight and what I saw, and I realized just how wrong I was about Toothless and Hiccup." Astrid explained.

Astrid couldn't help but blush a little after saying the first part of that last sentence, but then she quickly composed herself and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Anyway, me and Hiccup were taken by surprise when Toothless changed course, and we soon found ourselves in a flock of dragons carrying their kill and food towards none other than the Dragons' Nest." Astrid revealed.

The chief's eyes widened upon hearing that his son and Astrid have been to the Nest, but Stoick held off on talking, since he believed that Astrid was going to tell him more.

"There's a reason why the dragons have been raiding this village to steal our food, and it's to feed a monstrous dragon inside the Nest, and we saw it with our own eyes. If a dragon doesn't provide enough food, then it gets eaten instead, since we saw this happen to an unlucky Gronckle, and that's when we left and returned to the cove. Obviously, I wanted to tell you and everybody else about the Nest right away, but Hiccup told me that I shouldn't do it because he was worried you'd have Toothless killed.

I asked Hiccup if he was actually willing to "protect his pet dragon" by keeping the Dragons' Nest a secret, but he told me "yes" and also that Toothless was his best friend. Since I was impressed by Hiccup's persistence on keeping Toothless a secret from our village and his loyalty to Toothless, I agreed not to tell anybody a word about the Nest. Before I went home, I punched Hiccup in the shoulder for "kidnapping" me, but also thanked him too for changing my view on dragons, but I never actually told him that."

For the second time that morning, Astrid took a deep breath after talking for so long, and then she and Hiccup kept quiet as they waited for the chief to say something.

"So, all this time, it hasn't been some rivalry with the Vikings, but pure survival, and what about this "monstrous dragon", how huge do you think it is?" Stoick asked.

"We only saw its head last night, and I might be exaggerating, but it could be large as our village itself, and the size of its head could swallow Berk." Hiccup answered.

Ever since Astrid had mentioned the Nest to him, Stoick started thinking about taking another expedition to find it, but now, he wasn't so sure to go through with it.

"No matter how many weapons you bring, Dad, it would be suicide to go there, nobody will come back alive if that monster comes out of that Nest." Hiccup warned.

As much as Stoick wanted to leave right now and find the Nest so badly, he couldn't stand the thought of losing Gobber or any of his other best warriors to this beast.

"Well, Hiccup, the last thing I want is to lose anyone in our village, so after you've shown everyone your knowledge about the dragons, what then?" Stoick inquired.

It didn't take Hiccup long to think of all the things that he'd like to happen in the near future, but he just hoped that his father would agree to go through with them.

"I really believe there should be a war council meeting held after the exam, so me and Astrid can tell everyone the truth, because people will be demanding for an explanation. I'll have to admit that I have a Night Fury, but I won't give up his location, because I don't want to risk letting any of the villagers to have the chance to kill Toothless. Next, I'll show that every other dragon besides the Nightmare can be tamed, and then I'll also prove that we can ride them by flying the Nightmare outside the arena.

I'm hoping that we can teach the rest of the villagers how to ride a dragon, many Vikings will be against it at first, so we'll start with those who are willing to believe me. Once I've taught enough villagers to fly, then we could probably be able to take trips to the Nest to prove my claims as well as get further information on the situation. Finally, we can launch a full-scale attack with one group on ships and the other on dragons so we can free all of those dragons and spare our village from any more raids." Hiccup explained.

Both the chief and Astrid couldn't help but be impressed as a little smile came on their face and their eyes widened a bit, since all of that actually sounded like a good plan.

"That thing in the Nest should have a name, since "monstrous dragon" kinda sounds very unoriginal, and "Queen" just seems like a good nickname for it." Hiccup informed.

"How about the Red Death?" Astrid suggested, which led to Hiccup and Stoick turning to face her. "It's in a glowing red pit and brings death to any dragons that don't give it enough food." She clarified.

Hiccup was obviously amazed with Astrid for coming up with a name so quickly, but he was also surprised that he couldn't think of a name that sounded just as perfect.

"I actually can't come up with a name at the moment, so "Red Death" it is then, and I guess we should head to the Kill Ring, since everyone will be there." Hiccup replied.

Stoick nodded in agreement first, as he knew it would've been unwise to have Hiccup's final exam delayed, considering all of Berk was still expecting to see it happen today.

"If everyone's already there, then we shouldn't keep them waiting any longer, right?" The chief asked as he got up from his seat, while Astrid and Hiccup did the same.

Once they'd left the Great Hall, the three of them quickly squinted their eyes as they adjusted to the sun's light, which shone brightly upon the village, which was still absent of any people. Stoick was sure that all of the villagers were in a festive mood, so it was likely that they wouldn't get upset about them being late, but him and the teens stayed a little fast on their way to the arena. By the time that Hiccup, Stoick, and Astrid finally arrived at the Kill Ring, they quickly noticed that a huge crowd had already gathered and were loudly chanting Hiccup's name and shouting encouragement.

"Gobber's waiting for you at the arena's entrance," Stoick told his son before turning to face Astrid. "The other teens must be expecting you to join them at the stands." He added.

"I'm sure they are, chief, but if it's alright with you, I'd like to watch the exam from the arena's entrance, just so I could have a better view, even though the gate will be closed." Astrid requested.

"Don't worry, lass, that's okay with me," The chief replied before he turned to face Hiccup again. "You know everybody's going to get suspicious if I don't give a speech." He informed.

"What exactly are you going to tell them, Dad?" Hiccup inquired, as he really thought that he should know more about his father's speech before he went into the arena.

"If I tell everybody that you're not gonna kill a dragon, then they'll probably start to leave, so I'll just say that today is when you finally become a Viking." Stoick revealed.

Even though he didn't feel it was right of his father to lie to the villagers, Hiccup really wanted to show the truth about dragons to the entire village, so he just gave a nod.

"Alright, Dad, so I'm gonna head to the arena's entrance now," Hiccup said before he headed toward the entrance to the Kill Ring with Astrid following right behind him.

When they made it to the entrance, both Astrid and Hiccup were surprised to see that Rapunzel was already there, so she must have been waiting for them to show up.

"Zel, what are you doing here? Didn't you find my note?" Hiccup asked, even though he knew that Rapunzel wasn't going to just stay inside his house after she woke up.

"Of course I did, Hiccup, and just so you know, I told a villager the story, and they must have spread the word, so I'm sure everyone knows it by now." Rapunzel informed.

Hiccup couldn't resist letting out a sigh of relief as he felt glad that he didn't need to tell anyone the story himself, and it was like a little weight had come off his shoulders.

"That's good to know, Zel, so you know what's gonna happen in the arena, right?" Hiccup asked, and a small smile appeared on his face when Rapunzel nodded her head.

"You're going to tame the Nightmare in front of the village just like you did for your father this morning, and speaking of your father, is he angry at you?" Rapunzel asked.

"I think my dad was pretty upset at the beginning, but then he eventually came around, even after I told him about Toothless and the Red Death too." Hiccup answered.

"I'm glad he's not mad about Toothless, but what's the Red Death?" Rapunzel asked, and that's when Hiccup and Astrid knew it was something Rapunzel needed to know.

"The big dragon from your nightmare, the same one we saw last night, we decided it should have a name, since "monster" or "queen" didn't sound right." Astrid replied.

"The reason why we chose that name is because we found out it lives in a red pit inside a volcano and it kills dragons that don't give it enough food." Hiccup explained.

"Wow, Hiccup, that name does make a lot more sense now, so I guess after your final exam's done, then you'll teach everyone how to ride a dragon?" Rapunzel asked.

"Not exactly, Zel, after my exam, there's going to be a meeting in the Great Hall, where I'll tell everyone about the Nest, the Red Death, and Toothless." Hiccup revealed.

Rapunzel opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped herself from saying a word when she noticed Hiccup and Astrid turn their heads away to look at something else. When she turned around, Rapunzel realized the crowd had fallen silent, which likely meant that Hiccup's father was about to give a big speech about his son's success. The chief had already been shown the truth about dragons this morning, but Rapunzel believed that he would let Hiccup do all the talking at the meeting later today.

"If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from well, being Hiccup... to placing first in dragon training? Well, I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off, for fear he'd gone mad! And you know it! But here we are. And no-one's more surprised... or more proud than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes one of us!" Stoick declared proudly.

The crowd exploded with cheers and roars from hearing the chief's speech, especially his last few words, but all it did for Hiccup was give him butterflies in his stomach.

"Be careful with that dragon." Astrid advised, even though she already knew that Hiccup could handle the Nightmare, she only said that to hopefully calm his nerves.

"I won't have to worry about my dad, since he knows the truth," Hiccup said before turning to face Rapunzel. "Thanks for suggesting that I show him first." He added.

"Your welcome, Hiccup, and just so you know, you don't have to worry a bit about me, because I'm going to stay right here until your exam's over." Rapunzel informed.

Hiccup felt good to be aware that Rapunzel would be with Astrid near the gate during his exam, and he was about to say something when he heard Gobber approaching.

"It's time, Hiccup. Knock him dead." Gobber said as he briefly pointed to the Nightmare's cage, but then he quickly noticed something. "Where's your helmet?" He asked.

"Oh, I must have forgot about it back at the house, since I was so focused on building a fire for Zel and making sure that she got a good night's sleep." Hiccup answered.

Hiccup didn't regret not bringing his helmet along with him, since he already managed to tame the Nightmare without it once, so he was sure that he could do it again.

"Yes, I heard the story, Hiccup, and in fact, the entire village has heard it, and I'm sure we'll want to hear it again after you've finished your exam." Gobber responded.

"In that case, I should go out there right now and get this exam done, right?" Hiccup asked trying to sound cheerful, and Gobber simply agreed with a nod of his head.

Hiccup turned to face Astrid and Rapunzel, then he gave them both a look of reassurance for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and stepped out into the arena. After he did that, Hiccup soon heard Gobber close the iron barred gate behind him, and he kept his head up high as he slowly made his way over to the weapons rack. The boy didn't bother to take his time and look at each weapon that was available to him, and he chose the exact same dagger and shield he picked from this morning.

"I'm ready!" Hiccup shouted, and once he heard that, a man turned a crank which caused the door bolts to the Nightmare's cage to be lifted, and the crowd fell completely silent.

Just like what happened a few hours ago, the Nightmare had burst out of the doors, blazing and dripping with flames, and Hiccup waited for it to extinguish and settle, giving it the time and space to approach him. The boy assumed that when all the villagers arrived to the arena, a few of them must have went inside and riled up the Nightmare by banging on its cage, so it probably explains why the dragon's become aggressive again. Hiccup quickly looked up to his father, and he noticed that Stoick didn't have a dark stare, but actually had a small smile on his face, as if the chief was proud of his son.

This made Hiccup feel a little more happy inside and he also felt confident that Stoick wouldn't try to put an end to the exam by clanging a hammer on the arena bars. He quickly brought his attention back to the Nightmare as he dropped his dagger first, and then his shield while stepping backward and holding up the palms of his hands. Gasps and murmurs began to race through the crowd of hundreds, as nobody expected this to happen, but Hiccup kept himself focused on the Nightmare in front of him.

Hiccup remembered to speak in a low voice, so that he wouldn't risk spooking the Nightmare as he told the dragon pretty much the exact same things from this morning. Everything seemed to be going smoothly as the Nightmare started to calm down with its eyes now dilating, and soon the dragon was sniffing curiously at the boy's hand. When the Vikings turned to Stoick, they were surprised to see that their chief didn't even look upset, but actually proud of what he was seeing take place in the arena.

"They're not what we think they are," Hiccup said this loud enough for the whole village to hear him, but not too loud as the gap between his hand and the Nightmare's snout began to close. "We don't have to kill them." He added.

The entire village was staring fixatedly at Hiccup and the Nightmare, as everyone had now become utterly entranced by what was happening before their very eyes. Everyone held their breath as Hiccup extended his hand toward the dragon, and they watched carefully as his hand drew nearer and closer until he finally touched it. Nobody moved, nobody spoke, not even one Viking uttered a single word, or made any sort of noise at all as complete silence reigned throughout the whole arena.

It stayed that way for a few minutes until they slowly turned their heads and kept their eyes on Hiccup as he walked with the calm, docile Nightmare back to its cage. Hiccup unlocked the great metal doors and he stood aside and waited patiently until the Nightmare was back inside of the cage before he closed and locked the doors. After he did that, Hiccup made his way back to the middle of the arena, and then he brought his head up to the crowd and cleared his throat before finally speaking.

"I will never kill a dragon as long as I live, because I've learned that I don't ever need to." Hiccup stated to everyone present, with his voice full of conviction and purpose.

"I have looked into the eyes of a dragon and perceived what it truly is. Not an evil, vicious, and soulless beast, but a kind, intelligent and loving creature, whose gentle nature comforted me, gave me consolation in my time of need. . .and showed me the meaning of hope." He continued.

Hiccup paused as he took a moment to let his words settle and take root in the minds of those who listened, while he couldn't resist feeling impressed with his speech.

"Having so long been conditioned to think like true Vikings, I can see that what I am now suggesting is quite difficult to accept. But. . .I want you all to understand this, as I do." Hiccup said, finishing his speech.

Rapunzel and Astrid suddenly felt tears well up in their eyes, and what they didn't know was that the other Viking teens now looked equally as mournful; clearly, Hiccup's compelling speech had a profound effect upon them. . .and it wasn't just them. Everyone present, even those villagers whose emotions normally remained hidden beneath a stubborn, resilient, and unyielding demeanor, was feeling the full force of what Hiccup had laid out, clear for all to see. All of a sudden, everyone's attention shifted from Hiccup to their chief as they saw Stoick stand up from his chair and looked at his son for a moment before he spoke.

"I'd like for everyone, as in every Viking and even the children, to come to the Great Hall, because it's time that we had a village meeting." Stoick announced loudly.

It seemed like all of the villagers definitely agreed with that as most of them gave a nod before they all left their spot from the stands and headed for the Great Hall.

"That was amazing," Rapunzel said, causing Hiccup to turn around and see her and Astrid approaching. "I don't just mean what you did with the Nightmare, but your speech too." She added.

"Thanks, Zel, but let's hope that it pays off, because me and Astrid still have to tell the villagers everything, especially the Red Death and Toothless." Hiccup reminded.

"Well, in that case, we'd better go to the Great Hall right now so you can do that." Rapunzel replied before she turned around and made her way to the arena gate.

Since she now had her back turned to them, Rapunzel didn't notice that Hiccup and Astrid were smiling, since they'd become a little in awe from what she just said.

"Wow, I like her spunk." Astrid whispered, and instead of saying a word, Hiccup just nodded in agreement before they went off and followed Rapunzel out of the arena.


End file.
